“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” -Nelson Mandela

Language learning has been a fundamental aspect of my life for some time now. In high school, I was known as the “language kid” because I took German, Spanish, Chinese, and French. When enrolling in courses for my first semester at Pitt, I made the decision to focus on perfecting my skills in German and Chinese. I successfully completed a certificate in German for the Liberal Arts and a minor in Chinese. The last time I was officially tested, I achieved an OPI rating of Intermediate Mid. Having completed two more levels of Chinese since then, I am likely in the Intermediate High to Advanced Low range, and I’ve covered content up to HSK 5. I have never been officially tested for German, but I am likely at a C1 Goethe-Zertifikat level.