A letter to first year me: Yankai

Posted on: 19 June 2025 by Richard Finch in Student experiences

Yankai is a Class of 2025 University of Liverpool and XJTLU 2+2 graduate. He looks back at his time at university and thinks about what he would tell his first-year self.

Dear First-Year Me,

Welcome to XJTLU. You’re probably feeling a mix of excitement and uncertainty as you step into university life. Let me reassure you, your journey ahead will be full of growth, discovery, and milestones you never imagined.

Right now, you’ve just started your degree in Media and Communication. What you don’t yet know is that choosing the 2+2 programme will change your life. XJTLU will give you a strong academic foundation and help you build confidence in your abilities. You’ll thrive in an English-speaking academic environment and even win the University Academic Excellence Award in your second year. Those long hours in the library will be worth it.

Fast forward to Liverpool, and the challenges will grow, new city, new culture, new expectations. You’ll not only adjust but excel. You’ll win the Liverpool Top 50 Excellence Award and, and in the end, graduate with a First-Class Honours degree in Media, Data, and Society. Yes, you’ll do that.

But university is about much more than grades. You’ll put yourself out there, joining the university as a Social Media Content Creator and International Student Ambassador. You’ll produce vlogs, write blogs, host webinars, and take over the university’s official Instagram. You'll become a voice for international students and gain skills in communication and digital storytelling that go far beyond the classroom.

Your passion for learning will take you into academic research. At Liverpool, you’ll work on a research project related to climate change, mastering systematic literature reviews and qualitative coding. These experiences will sharpen your analytical skills and deepen your curiosity.

Perhaps most unexpectedly, you’ll land a summer internship at PwC Manchester. You’ll join the Audit Centre of Excellence, working on financial statement audits for multinational clients. You’ll attend team meetings, analyse complex reports, and begin to see how your data training applies to the corporate world.

Outside of work and study, you’ll find joy in intercultural exchange, speaking at events and building friendships that stretch across the globe. Life won’t always be easy, but every experience, even the tough ones, will help you grow into someone more confident, capable, and grounded.

You may not yet know exactly where this all leads, but you’ll discover that your unique combination of academic achievement, creative storytelling, and analytical thinking makes you well-prepared for whatever comes next.

So, to you, First-Year Me: say yes more often. Don’t be afraid to try, fail, ask questions, or stand out. You’re more capable than you think, and you’re on a path that will shape your future in ways far beyond what you can see now.

Proudly,

Yankai