Between dinners around the world, 23km long hikes, and case competitions, Beedie Luminary Queenie Zhang is a fourth year student pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of British Columbia. Throughout exchange, Queenie has visited over 12 countries. In this article, we break the surface of Queenie’s life and exchange studies. Check out our Instagram for more photos of Queenie’s exchange.
About Queenie:
What are you studying?
I’m currently in my 4th year of my Bachelor of Commerce, at UBC Sauder where I specialize in Global Supply Chain and Logistics Management (GSCLM). The program includes two exchange semesters, where cohorts from 3 schools (University of British Columbia, Copenhagen Business School, and Chinese University of Hong Kong) travel together to each school for a semester. Aside from GSCLM, I am minoring in French, and pursuing a concentration in Business Analytics. I’ll be graduating in spring 2024!
What have been some of your favourite courses throughout your degree so far?
COMM449, Supply Chain Management, at UBC was a case-based course that encouraged both quantitative and qualitative analyses of real-life supply chain issues companies are facing.
SOC3029, Environment and Sustainable Development, at SKKU taught analytical tools towards ideas such as consumer behaviour and policy impacts.
Where have your exchange terms taken you?
- Denmark (Copenhagen, Odense, Aarhus, Skagen)
- Sweden (Malmo),
- England (London, Cambridge, Isle of Wight)
- Italy (Naples, Rome, Venice, Milan)
- Germany (Hamburg, Berlin),
- Poland (Gdansk)
- Spain (Malaga)
- France (Paris)
- Norway (Oslo)
- Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam)
- Belgium (Brussels)
- South Korea (Seoul, Sokcho, Gangneung, Jeju Island, Busan, DMZ)
- Singapore
- Taiwan (Jiufen, Taipei)
- Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto)
Advice on Exchange for Other Students:
You’ve gained a lot of experience as an exchange student. Do you have any advice?
- Thoroughly research entry and visa requirements! The last thing you want is to be refused entry during your travels.
- Understand your priorities and expectations around academics, travel, friendships, career, lifestyle, and finances during your exchange. This will help you minimise FOMO and curate the best exchange for you.
- These days, it’s rare to have the opportunity to be abroad for so many months at a time, especially when you are working full time. Don’t take yourself too seriously during exchange and truly enjoy every aspect of your time there, because it will be a once-in-a-lifetime (or maybe twice) experience you will never forget.
What are three things you have learned on exchange?
- My top takeaway has to be a higher level of independence. Going on solo trips and managing internship recruitment alongside school and travels are just some examples of where I truly learned to enjoy my own company and to simultaneously manage so many different aspects of my life. I learned to thrive outside of a controlled environment.
- Being in so many different places has let me adapt to and absorb foreign languages, foods, mannerisms, and cultures. My boyfriend is convinced I’m fluent in Korean, which is far from reality but quite encouraging to my language-learning efforts!
- The world is so big and there are so many countries I have yet to explore. However, making genuine connections with the people I have met and befriended makes the foreign world a little smaller, in a good way.
How did you plan financially for exchange?
The Beedie Luminaries scholarship is amazing financial support for your studies and exchange (depending on where you want to go, and what you want to do). In order to ensure that I had enough funds, I saved up from my summer internships, and worked part-time alongside my studies before I went on exchange.
Anything Else You’d Like to Share about Exchange?
How has exchange helped you with career opportunities?
Though exchange is not a prerequisite for internships, it can help your application stand out. Having interned at Aritzia this past summer, and looking forward to starting an 8-month supply chain term with Procter & Gamble in 2023, I believe that my time abroad in the GSCLM program contributed to a strong application portfolio. This is especially true when applying to globally-renown companies!
What are some memorable moments from your exchange experience?
- Lime scootering at 2am in the roads of Milan in the rain with a new friend I had met the same day (I cannot even ride a bike)!
- When the paragliding instructor in Korea had let me take control of the ropes to line us up for the landing.
- Boarding a RyanAir flight to Italy for a 2-week trip with someone I had only known for a month. (We have been together for over a year now)!
Interested in becoming a Beedie Luminary like Queenie? Apply here today. Applications close January 12, 2023 at 9am (PST).
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