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I grew up in Shanghai, China. My hometown is a unique cultural hub in China where traditional Chinese and Western cultures merge. I have had strong passions for both and knew at a young age that I wanted to bridge these two cultures. At ������ý, I pursued my passion and developed my critical thinking skills through languages, literature and history. I fell in love with Latin two weeks into my first year, and I decided to stick with it. During those formative years, I took classes in multiple languages and various historical periods. I became a Latin teacher by chance. As an international student who majored in Classics, I had to find a job that was directly related to my major. So I became a K-8 Latin teacher.

Throughout that year of teaching, despite constant frustrations, I found the sense of achievement that came at the end of every day was so satisfying, and I didn’t think I would have gotten that in other jobs. I became certified in Massachusetts and started teaching high school Latin full time. Currently, I am teaching both Latin and Chinese at a nationally acclaimed public high school north of Chicago. I also sponsor the Chinese Club at my school. This year, my American students are tutoring middle-schoolers in China in English online. My own background and my Classics major have helped me to become the bridge that is also increasingly more important in our divided world.