{"id":10683,"date":"2023-06-07T11:51:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T11:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=10683"},"modified":"2023-06-08T10:28:43","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T10:28:43","slug":"sharing-unique-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2023\/06\/07\/sharing-unique-insights\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing Unique Insights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To celebrate Volunteering Week, CONNECTED is sharing the inspirational stories of some of our alumni who volunteer. Today, we hear from two alumni, Junxin Wang and Junyuan Shao, who have supported our student recruitment team in their work in China.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"PostcardAlumni volunteers are hugely important to the University\u2019s student recruitment team, as they support student recruitment in a variety of ways \u2013 from sharing their time at Reading in articles, to attending careers fairs around the world, to speaking to prospective students. Hearing from alumni who have come to live and study at the University of Reading, and providing a unique insight into life here, plays a vital role in helping prospective students decide to study at Reading.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Picture-Perfect Experience<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Junxin Wang spent a year in Reading as part of an exchange with Xi\u2019an University of Architecture and Technology<\/a>, and while here he volunteered with the student recruitment team by drawing postcards of campus and writing articles.<\/p>\n

Junxin said: \u201cMy year at Reading was unforgettable. I made many friends from all over the world and enjoyed hosting themed dinner parties with my flatmates. We had turkey and apple pie for American Thanksgiving, enjoyed dumplings for Chinese Spring Festival, had \"Junxinpasta from Italy and a traditional British Christmas dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sport played a big role in Junxin\u2019s time at Reading. He said: \u201cI really like football and I met many friends from different countries when I played football at Reading. Even though we didn\u2019t know each other before, after two games of football we became good friends without talking much \u2013 maybe this is the charm of football.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI also enjoyed cycling on the weekends, visiting surrounding towns and villages. The British countryside is so beautiful and you can see so many exquisite buildings while you cycle. I am fascinated by architecture and art, so would often stop to draw some architectural paintings. To me, cycling is more like a journey of exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junxin\u2019s love of art and architecture played a key part in his volunteering for the student recruitment team. He said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI designed pictures for the marketing team, for example for Chinese New Year, and edited videos. I also drew a set of watercolour postcards for the University, featuring nine beautiful landscapes and buildings from the various University of Reading campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Vicky Li-Ong, Regional Manager for East Asia, who worked with Junxin during his volunteering, shared that Junxin\u2019s postcards are now given as gifts to the University\u2019s international partners.<\/p>\n

Junxin said: \u201cMy time as a volunteer helped me meet lots of new friends and colleagues, and allowed me to do things I had never done before, such as writing articles about my time at Reading that have been shared on WeChat, as well as answering questions from prospective students. I really enjoyed my time at Reading, and was more than happy to recommend the University to prospective students in China. I highly recommend volunteering with the University to other alumni.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advising Future Generations<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Junyuan Shao studied International Business and Economic Development in\u00a0the\u00a0Department of Economics<\/a> at the University of Reading, graduating in 2005. Junyuan said: \u201cIt was a pleasant time, although it involved lots of hard work! Reading provided me with a peaceful and safe living environment, wonderful classmates from all around the world, and full support and guidance from my tutors. I still miss the University\u2019s marvellous Whiteknights campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junyuan started volunteering with the University\u2019s student recruitment team thanks to\u00a0a\u00a0friend. He recalled: \u201cOne of my friends, a fellow University of Reading graduate, asked me whether I\u2019d be interested in being interviewed for an article. I was more than happy to discuss my time living and studying in Reading, as well as talk about my career post-graduation.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI was also pleased to be able to offer advice to prospective international students. My advice included reminding them that the Students\u2019 Union is there to support students and to ask for help and support from other students and lecturers, who are all kind and happy to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Vicky Li-Ong said: \u201cJunyuan\u2019s article was published on the University\u2019s WeChat account last year, and helped greatly with engagement and conversion for student recruitment. We really appreciated him participating in the interview.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junyuan added: \u201cI really enjoyed sharing my good memories of my time at Reading, and it gave me great satisfaction to be able to support the future generation of Reading students.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have been inspired by Junxin and Junyuan\u2019s stories and are interested in supporting the student recruitment team, you can sign up to be an International Ambassador<\/a>. If you\u2019d like to volunteer in another way with the University, you can email our Alumni Volunteering Officer, Rachel Dean<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To celebrate Volunteering Week, CONNECTED is sharing the inspirational stories of some of our alumni who volunteer. Today, we hear from two alumni, Junxin Wang and Junyuan Shao, who have supported our student recruitment team in their work in China. Alumni volunteers are hugely important to the University\u2019s student recruitment team, as they support student […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":10687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[183,54,64,34,147,47],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSharing Unique Insights - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CONNECTED spoke to two alumni, Junxin Wang and Junyuan Shao, who have supported our student recruitment team in their work in China.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2023\/06\/07\/sharing-unique-insights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sharing Unique Insights - 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