Wenzhou-Kean University saw its first graduating class in May 2016. While some alumni have embarked on journeys applying their degrees to their occupations of choice, other alumni have started the path to receive a higher degree.
One of these graduates is Yongfu Wang, a computer science major studying at Northwestern University in Evanston. Wang attributed the love he has for computer science to the preparation he obtained while studying at Wenzhou-Kean University.
“Four-year study at Wenzhou-Kean went rather fast, and when I approached my graduation, I realized that I might need to learn more to get better prepared for my career. I really miss the small-sized classes at Wenzhou-Kean, which help students and professors efficiently communicate with each other,” Wang said.
“At Northwestern University, I have a class size that sees more than 50 students. Also, I am quite missing the time that I conducted the projects in the Wenzhou-Kean research labs – the Media Lab and the Inclusive Technology Lab. Those were the places I fought for my dreams and the places I felt enthusiastic,” Wang commented.
Wang said that his loving friends and responsible professors motivated him to pursue his education and succeed with a degree in hand.
“I feel quite lucky to be one of the first batch of students that graduated from Wenzhou-Kean. I got the chance to witness its growth,” Wang said. “Wenzhou-Kean, for me is just like a baby, from merely one single tiny shared floor to a dedicated campus with more and more students and faculty coming. It was quite amazing!”
Wang also said that his four years of studying at Wenzhou-Kean University with English teaching as a medium helped him face less of a language barrier in the classroom. Wenzhou-Kean put him on the path of obtaining his master’s at Northwestern University, which he expects to be able to complete by December 2017.
“The abundant project experiences collected through doing various research with my advisors – Dr. Tiffany Tang and Dr. Pinata Winoto – at Wenzhou-Kean helped me to quickly adapt to master study, academically and through conducting research projects,” Wang said. “And it was in the time that I studied at Wenzhou-Kean that I decided my future direction.”
Wang’s research interests are related to human-computer interaction on the accessibility and inclusive technology, concepts he closely observes, along with other goals he has in mind instead of just getting a master’s degree from the Illinois institution.
“I have enrolled in developing a ‘singing’ plant to soothe autistic children and a visual assistant device to help the visually impaired sense the indoor environment,” Wang says.
Going to graduate school is an important decision. So why did Wang choose Northwestern?
“Northwestern has an Inclusive Technology Lab, directed by Dr. Anne Marie Piper. It provides diverse research opportunities on assisting technology, natural user interfaces and educational technology to assist various target groups including children with autism, hearing and visually impaired patients, senior citizens and more. That matched my interest, driving me to go to Northwestern University.”
Wang’s choice of study was due to his love of computer science’s ubiquitous nature, since computers are manifested into every piece of technology that people use.
“You are enjoying the convenience brought by the student ID you are swiping, the phone you are using and the car you are driving, but you might not notice that they are all backed up by various pieces of technology empowered by computer science,” Wang elaborated. “It is quite helpful for our current life, but it is not merely limited to the fact that computer science is helping to shape a better future for us.”
Clearly, this alumnus of Wenzhou-Kean has his goals set in front of him, and he wishes to achieve all of them throughout his journey in getting his Master’s degree.
Wang is still deciding where his path will take him in the future but can see himself teaching as a professor within a university setting or being a software engineer for a global technology company.
