During my junior year I had the honor to work with my professor and director of Global Engagement and Intercultural Learning. Since I met Anita Deeg-Carlin, she has been such a blessing in my life. I remember being scared and shy to talk in classes because of my accent, and something that I remember is that she did not care about my accent; she let me speak, and I felt that she understood me.
During our introductory class, Anita let me present to the class about my country. I shared my story with my peers, but also the situation of Venezuela. Anita also introduced me to Professor Elizabeth Hepford, who has been helping out with my pronunciation and my grammar with weekly meetings. In my job as a Global Engagement and Intercultural Learning Assistant, I learned to advocate for those who are underrepresented on campus and had the chance to interview them and publish their story in the Newsletter of the Fries Center of Global Studies. Working with Anita gave me the chance to acknowledge that I am not the only one with problems and that we can solve a lot of them with empathy.
Liang Liang 26’
Most of the Asian students who come to the United States have to change their names because people cannot pronounce them correctly. This is not the exception for Liang Liang. Her real name is Quingya Liang. “We have to change our names when we already have one. It’s ridiculous; it’s like having two identities.” Quingya Liang was born and raised in Anhui, China, which is close to the city of Shanghai.
Experience at Wes
In the beginning, Quingya had problems with adaptation; as an international student, she struggled not only with food, norms, and her English when she came to the United States. “I had nightmares that people could not understand my English.” However, she started to do Theater, and it was her cure and medicine for all her insecurities about her English. Quingya’s first was the Actor’s experience, and she described this class as making connections and building community in the space with other students.
Food
When she was in elementary school, teachers gave an assignment to kids to cook for their families in order to show love for their parents. “You cook because you love someone.” In China, females cook more than males. Her grandmother and mother cook really well because it is their responsibility to supply the family with food. She cooks because she is satisfied when she does something. She also pointed out that she likes to cook for people because she feels great when they smile because of her food. In fact, during our interview she cooked for me, and I smiled because while she was cooking she was transmitting her happiness.
Reference:
Unique Voices: Spotlight on Manuela Zárate, Brandon Forde ’26, and Liang Liang ’26 | WesAndTheWorld. 6 Feb. 2025, wesandtheworld.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2025/02/06/unique-voices-spotlight-on-manuela-zarate-brandon-forde-26-and-liang-liang-26.
