Marketing student finds focus in Beijing

Shirley Liu, right, says meeting people like BC Public Service Agency manager Suzanne Groulx while interning at the BC Pavilion in Beijing, has helped her find her career.

An internship at the BC Pavilion at the Olympic Village in Beijing has given Shirley Liu a clearer vision of what she wants to do when she graduates.

"It's thanks to this co-op experience that I have decided to go into Marketing," says Liu, who returns to Canada at the end of July. When she left Burnaby for Beijing, Liu was enrolled in General Studies at Douglas College. She has since transferred into the Marketing Program.

"It was an eye-opening experience meeting with visitors and delegates from around the world. My co-workers were especially influential. I learned a lot from them and I also discovered new areas that I'm interested in and good at," says Liu.

Liu was the only Douglas student who was selected to go to Beijing by the BC Centre of International Education, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that promotes international education to post-secondary students in BC. Twelve interns in total were chosen - six, including Liu, went from May to July. Six more will work in Beijing from July to September.

"It was such an amazing opportunity that I just couldn't pass it up," says Liu.

As a host at the BC Pavilion, Liu's main duties were presenting exhibits to visitors and answering their questions. Speaking English, Mandarin and French meant she helped with translation too. She says her education at Douglas also came in handy.

"Thanks to my economics courses, I had the knowledge and vocabulary to better explain and answer visitors' questions and comments. My Canadian society course was especially helpful, since I have more in-depth background knowledge of the contents of the exhibits," says Liu.

Liu is glad she got the opportunity to travel abroad and apply what she has learned.

"There are no disappointments about this trip, everything was better than I expected."

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