High School/Hometown: China
Education: B.A., Rutgers University (Chemistry & minor in Modern Greek Studies); currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry.
Year of RU Graduation: 2018
Current Position: Chemistry PhD student at Northwestern University
Why did you decide to take courses in Modern Greek (language)? If you pursued the minor in Modern Greek Studies, why did you decide to do this?
I fell in love with Theo Angelopoulos’s movies in my freshman year. He is a very famous Greek director who depicts Modern Greek history and expresses his love for Greece through his work. I then became curious about Modern Greek language, culture, and society and decided to pursue the minor in Modern Greek Studies.
What did you like the most about your Greek classes? If you took the minor, what did you like most in the other approved courses for the minor that you took (e.g., history, political science, religion)?
The atmosphere of the language classes was always welcoming. Professor Kourti-Gavalas was very knowledgeable in the language, history, culture, customs, etc., of Greece. I liked that I have learnt a lot more than the language itself in those classes.
I also took the History of the Byzantine Empire and Greek film class to fulfill my minor. I had very little prior knowledge about the Byzantine period of Greece, but Professor Takacs provided many great primary sources and useful information and presented a very concrete historical period of the Byzantine Empire. I had found what I learnt extremely useful when I went to visit historical museums in Greece.
I genuinely love Greek movies because of Theo Angelopoulos. I also watched several Greek movies in the language classes. However, many older Greek films are very hard to find online or in DVD formats. The Greek film class gave me a great opportunity to watch more classic Greek movies from directors like Michael Cacoyannis. The movie selection was also very broad-range chronologically, which allows me to see how Greek films evolved overtime under the influences of war, politics, and changes in society. Overall this course not only suits my interest but also deepened my understanding and love towards Greek culture.
Considering your current position and successes, was there anything in the classes or experiences you had, in pursuing Modern Greek and/or Modern Greek Studies, that contributed to your perspectives and accomplishments?
Learning Modern Greek is much more than learning the language itself. It is also about adopting another way of thinking like Greek people. Greek is much more rigorous and logistic in terms of grammar and sentence structures than many other languages, so it definitely helped me in my studies in science.
If you pursued a M.A. or Ph.D. after graduating from Rutgers, did the courses you took in Modern Greek, or Modern Greek Studies, help prepare you for graduate work, or your professional life in general?
Even if learning a difficult language like Modern Greek can take a lot of time, I learnt to be persistent and dedicate with it since it is something I love. I would always find time to study Greek when I was busy with my chemistry courses. Now I am able to carry such passion and dedication on with my PhD studies and many other things I enjoy (but time-consuming) in my life.
What advice would you give students thinking about studying Modern Greek, or taking the MGSP minor, but haven’t made up their minds?
You do not have to be a student in humanites to study Modern Greek or minor in Modern Greek Studies. As long as you keep an open-mind to different languages and cultures, you will find the experience of learning about Greece to be fun, exciting, and helpful in ways you may never have anticipated.