[Graduation Series] CHEN Kunhao: Everything happens for the best

CHEN Kunhao, a graduate from the Faculty of English Language and Culture, was admitted to a translation and interpretation training program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. After finishing the four-month course in MIIS (Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey), he is now preparing for the final test in June. He will officially become a member of MFA if he makes it.

His success is not at all by happenstance. Looking back, he summed up three key words for his university life: Goal, Opportunity and Choice.

“I thought about what I wanted to do during the four years before coming here”, said CHEN. One of his top priorities in universities days was to be one of the top students who can could be exempt from the admission exam to get a master's degree. Joining the Chinese Communist Party and being a student cadre were also his targets. “Once I set up these goals, I realized that studying hard ranked first. It helped me avoid many dilemmas.” As a smart learner, he became motivated in his study, searching for information that he needed.

More than once, CHEN mentioned that making choice was very important. When he was a freshman, he joined the university`s orchestra, which meant that he needed to take a one-hour bus to the South Campus for the rehearsal once a week. He left the orchestra after two months. “You should always strike a balance between your work and study, otherwise it could be a mess.” He made another essential choice in his junior year, when he heard about the training program. “It was really difficult to make a decision. The select process of the program was strict. I was not sure if I had any competitive advantage over my rivals. It`s like, fight to win or die.” Finally, he chose to join the program, for one simple reason: “Maybe it was the only opportunity to be a member of MFA in my entire life. It only recruited junior students. Once I missed, I may miss it forever.”

Sitting on the bench, CHEN reviewed his experience over the past four years, and gave ninety points to his university life. “Ninety points in China equals to a 4.0 GPA. Everyone in the university wants it. It`s good enough, but actually not perfect.” He smiled, “But I always believe that everything happens for the best. What we ought to do is to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

About the program: The program aims at selecting top penultimate-year students as candidates for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China`s officials. Some quotas are allocated to GDUFS. All candidates must sit for some exams in a particular language, those who pass the exams will be sent abroad for four-month studying. The final test will be held after the foreign course.