Trio Going to China
On 14 May 2016 six Chinese Programme students participated in the 15th Wellington Region Chinese Proficiency Competition. The three top prizes in the tertiary group were won by Victoria University Chinese Programme students: Lagi Aukusitino, Elliot Maddox and James Hurley. In July Lagi and Elliot, as the two top-prize winners, will travel to Changsha in China to participate in the International Competition. James will also have the opportunity to travel to China as part of the cheer-team. All three students will be awarded Chinese language scholarships.
Lagi, the first-place prize winner, is a Samoan student who enrolled in the Chinese language course in 2014 without previous knowledge of China or the Chinese language. She has never been to China and did not have any Chinese friends when she first started studying Chinese. In her speech she said that “China” was her new friend through the study of the language. Her interest in Chinese music also motivated her to study the language. At the competition she sang a Chinese song while playing guitar; all the judges and the audience were impressed by her performance. Lagi’s family all came to the event to support her, and also enjoyed their hands-on experience in practicing Chinese calligraphy. The family was very proud of Lagi’s success.
Pictured below from left to right: Coreena Xia (Teaching Fellow in Chinese), James Hurley, Elliot Maddox, Lagi Aukusitino, Charles Clayton and Dr Limin Bai (Senior Lecturer in Chinese).