As a broadcasting major, Caroline Woodward ’19 came into college expecting to learn camera angles, design work and reporting. But when it came time to fulfill her language requirement, she wanted a new experience.
Instead of taking entry level Spanish like many of her classmates, she decided to study Chinese, specifically the Mandarin dialect.
“I was very curious by Mandarin, especially since two of my best friends from high school were Chinese and spoke it all the time,” she said. “I knew it would be difficult to understand characters for the first time, but I was excited for a new challenge.”
After taking the initial 100-level courses needed to meet the requirement, Woodward found that she excelled at the language and wanted to continue.
The Chinese minor at Susquehanna is still in development, but Woodward plans to continue learning the language throughout the rest of her college career and beyond.
Currently, she is studying in Macau, a special administrative region of China.
People in the region where she is staying speak Cantonese so she is able to learn another dialect. She also has traveled to Beijing, where she was able to use her conversational Mandarin skills.
After graduation, Woodward hopes to eventually work as an interpreter.
