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YANG Xilian 杨喜连Undergraduate study: Aircraft Design & Engineering
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Xilian is the younger of two sisters. Her mother is unemployed and her father lost his previous job and is now working as a delivery man on a tricycle. She graduated high school at the top of her class and has a very strong passion for aerospace engineering. Her dream is to be a scientific researcher in astronautics and aeronautics after graduate school.
About her interactions with the Qian Zheng Scholarship mentors she writes: “This is the only chance that I have to chat with people from a different culture. Conversations with these independent bigger sisters have a huge influence on me.” She also hopes that one day she will have the opportunity of travelling in the U.S. She is very proud to have been the leader of the Yanxing inspirational speech trip to high schools in Chongqing this summer. Her many hobbies include reading books, playing tennis, model aircraft, roller-skating, dancing to music and self-learning French. “My hometown is an underdeveloped small town. Compared to my folks, I am lucky that I can study in a university in the country’s capital. However, I lagged behind my big-city-raised peers from Day 1. I have not been to many countries, I know little about music and sport games, and my spoken English is poor. All I have been exposed to are textbooks. The Qian Zheng Memorial Scholarship connected me with excellent female role models. Qian Zheng Scholarship grants me 5000 RMB every year until I graduate the 4 year undergrad program. How much can 5000 RMB help? So much! In 2014, I used part of the fund plus some of my personal saving to buy a smartphone, replacing my old 2G keyboard cell phone finally. I don’t have any game apps on my smartphone. My favorite apps are dictionary, open online courses, TED Talks, and ToWords. Also I used 3200 RMB to cover living expenses for 4 months of a semester.” “Learn to think differently. In university, I learn to do research. In QZMS family, I learn how to articulate then solve the problem outside of academics. I can talk freely with the QZ family without worrying being judged.” |
