How should we spend our college life? This question may not have a definitive answer, but an eternal subject is to explore a broader world outward and seek a more complete self inward.

Zhang Yining, a graduate interviewed in this issue, said she had been an introvert without a clear plan for her future. However, during her four-year study at Xi'an Eurasia University, she gained extraordinary and touched experiences during extracurricular activities in youth communities and voluntary teaching activities and gradually built up self-confidence in various competitions, while maintaining excellent academic performance throughout the four years of undergraduate study.

Now, she is enthusiastic about exploration and about to enter a wider world.

Zhang Yining graduated from the School of Business Administration of Xi'an Eurasia University in 2023, majoring in Exhibition Economy and Management. During university, she served as the study monitor of her class and won the first prize in the 2020 China University Business Elite Challenge Exhibition Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Competition, the 2020 School-level Learning Model, the first prize in the 2021 China University Business Elite Challenge Exhibition Copywriting Competition, the first prize in the 2021 ChinaUniversity Business Elite Challenge Business Conference Award Tourism Planning Competition, the 2021 School-level Learning Model, the second prize of the university-level at the 2021 "Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press-English Test for International Communication Cup" English Reading Contest, and the 2022 University-level Learning Model, among other awards and honors. Now she has been accepted to study as a candidate Master of Tourism, Hotel and Event Management at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Be Open at Xi'an Eurasia University

to Integrate into a Wider World

Zhang Yining started her college life at Xi'an Eurasia University in 2019, majoring in Exhibition Economy and Management at the School of Business Administration. The way to allocate dormitories was the first difference that she noticed about Xi'an Eurasia University, "As far as I know, most universities allocate dormitories to students according to their classes or majors while Xi'an Eurasia University sets up eight youth communities and allows us to choose communities according to our interests. Besides, some communities have exclusive study rooms and regularly organize a series of related activities or lectures, which greatly enrich our extracurricular life."

Zhang Yining was deeply impressed by a community activity themed "Turning Waste into Treasure" that she participated in with her friends. They removed the broken handles from their umbrellas and recycled them by making them into recyclable shopping bags. This series of processes not only improved her hands-on ability, but also provided her a new insight into daily necessities and raised her environmental awareness.

In addition to studies, Zhang Yining also joined the Youth Volunteer Association of Xi'an Eurasia University and went to Luancun Primary School in Luanzhen Sub-district every Friday afternoon for voluntary teaching. On campus, she called on everyone to donate their items of little use as gifts to children in Luancun Primary School. She was grateful for the volunteer teaching experience: "These children may not have a good learning environment, but I can feel their sincere thirst for knowledge. All this has inspired me to take my study and life more seriously."

This unforgettable volunteer teaching experience sowed a seed of becoming a teacher in her heart. Recalling the past four years, Zhang said: "Opening myself is actually a long process, and I made my first step forward at Xi'an Eurasia University."

Competitions Are Not Just a Means of Enhancing Expertise

But Also a Means of Self-realization

Zhang Yining's major in exhibition economy and management is a discipline that particularly emphasizes comprehensiveness and practicality. In reality, an exhibition venue often requires a lot of labor and material resources, making it difficult to effectively restore it and provide a perception of it in the preparation stage of the project or in class. Therefore, the teachers of the School of Business Administration often introduce a variety of practical props into the classroom and the sand table is one of them.

The sand table can help quickly and conveniently restore the scene by simulating the arrangement of materials, personnel, and the venue as well as time management. It helps students improve their practical skills and teamwork, provides them with a deeper understanding of their major, and enhances their interest in class.

Teachers also often lead students to participate in professional competitions to acquire more practical professional skills. Zhang Yining won the first prize in the 2020 China University Business Elite Challenge Exhibition Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Competition under the leadership of the teachers Dou Xiaoning and Tan Qihong, and the first prize in the 2021 China University Business Elite Challenge Business Conference Award Tourism Planning Competition.

The 2020 China University Business Elite Challenge Exhibition Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Competition was the first large-scale competition that Yining participated in at university. Her team initially chose celebrity wax as the theme, but Dou Xiaoning noted that star wax exhibitions had become common in major cities and it might be better to take the people who stood out in the epidemic response as the theme to promote more positive social energy.

Under the guidance of teachers, Yining and her classmates reconceived their ideas and finally won the first prize. "We have learned from these competitions that the exhibition is not only an economic activity, but also a social responsibility," she said. In the second competition, under the guidance of the teacher Tan Qihong, the team chose to plan an activity using a female care brand as the theme to help children in poverty-stricken areas carry out research and study trips and won the first prize in the 2021 China University Business Elite Challenge Business Conference Award Tourism Planning Competition.

Leveraging the "Local Internationalization" Platform Xi'an Eurasia University

as a Path to University of Queensland

In her junior year, Zhang Yining began to plan for the future like everyone else. In the free and inclusive atmosphere of Xi'an Eurasia University, she began to imagine more possibilities in life under the influence of her classmates and friends. Finally, Yining chose to further improve her academic qualifications by studying abroad to gain a more cutting-edge international vision of the exhibition industry.

The rich experience in competitions and awards, the exhibition English courses offered by the School of Business Administration until the junior year, and various overseas study and IELTS lectures held by Xi'an Eurasia University from time to time helped Yining apply for an offer more smoothly.

Li Yan, director of the exhibition major at the School of Business Administration, also kept an eye on Zhang Yining's application progress. She and her colleague Dou Xiaoning issued a recommendation letter for Yining to help her obtain six offers from famous universities including the University of Leeds and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland in Australia. Finally, Yining chose the University of Queensland for further study.

Recalling her four years of undergraduate life, Zhang Yining felt sort of regretful: "At first, I missed many opportunities for competitions and practice due to a lack of self-confidence. But later experience tells me that as long as I work hard, I will definitely gain something."

Therefore, she would also like to encourage undergraduates to take the first step of exploration: "I hope that they will be brave to have a try during college and will not miss any opportunity to show themselves and improve themselves simply for fear of failure. During university, the main task is to study, but it is also important to participate in competitions or club activities in our spare time. Only by lowering your head and keeping your feet on the ground can you raise your head and look up at the stars. I hope all of you will spend your four years of college life without regrets!"