Monique Hurlock

International Experience Country:
China
Cohort Year:
2021
Home Institution:

University of Pittsburgh | Bradford

Heinz Programming Area:
Learning
Bio:
My name is Monique Hurlock. I am a current student at University of Pittsburgh-Bradford in Pre-BSN track. I am also a big sister to a beautiful two-year-old girl. This program was introduced to me by my amazing study abroad advisor, Ms. Sosic. My goal is to become the leader that I aspire to be that my little sister and many other young women will look up too. I am working hard every day to become a better me and better leader. I believe that this program will help me with this goal of mine. This is just a minor step, but I will come out different in some way.
International Experience Summary:

Monique Hurlock did an online virtual program with the CET this summer in their rigorous Chinese Language & Culture program. She spent the time learning about the differences of dialects, the major tones of Chinese words and learned about the cinematography and politics of China. Through the 8-week virtual program, Monique had the opportunity to make friends through the new language partner program that CET had added to this year’s virtual program. She also made friends with her classmates as well. The CET faculty over in Beijing was great support for Monique through her learning of Chinese. They encouraged her to keep pushing and told her what was needed to improve and how to achieve it. To better understand and grasp the material there was also a separate 1:1 session time that the students including Monique were mandatory to attend daily. Through these two attributes of the CET Beijing Office, Monique was able to finish the course with a better understanding of the Chinese and a more expanded Chinese vocabulary. Monique learned to be more of a global person and gained some long-term friends along the way of learning the Chinese language.

When Monique was not doing her virtual program, she will always be using her break time or free time to make sure she was on track for the next class. The program was a rigorous and demanding or program that required time management. Also, Monique took it upon herself to get help with the encouragement of her teachers to get tutoring. Once, Monique got the hang of tie management she was on the roll. Her pronunciation, vocabulary, and her construction of Chinese characters got gradually better. Monique ended the course with a satisfying grade and the wish to be able to go to China one day in the future.

Community Engagement Experience Summary:

CEE Title: The Importance of Learning a Second Language 

Our CEE was titled. “The Importance of Learning a New Language.” The title captured what the main topic of discussion was. The benefits of learning a new language are that it improves overall cognitive functions such as memory, cognitive flexibility, focus, and multitasking. On smaller campuses like Bradford, the number of language courses offered is the bare minimum when compared to bigger campuses such as the Oakland campus. Throughout the presentation, each VIH cohort member spoke about their experiences within their virtual programs. Tyanne Nelson spoke about her virtual program that was a Korean language course. Ambria Richardson spoke about hers which was a Chinese language course. Bridgit Smith spoke about hers which was in Italy. Monique Hurlock spoke about hers which was a Chinese language course. Then, there was the section about taking the initiative which was pushing for the university to add more language courses and to promote the ones that were already available for students. Also, the idea of a language exchange club could be put in place where people could teach other languages. After we finished presenting, our guest speaker Ms. Haxia Wang was introduced by Ms. Samila Sosic, our campus coordinator. Ms. Haxia Wang had discussed her work as a professor, what her job was, and showed the work of her students. At the end of the presentation, we thanked everyone for attending and opened the floor for questions. A young lady asked how we handled our programs virtually because she had also done a virtual study abroad program. We spoke of our challenges but also applauded each other for making it through the program. The President of UPitt-Bradford was also present for our event and applauded us for a good presentation.