Youer Wu, '29

Hometown: New York City, NY
Languages: English, Mandarin
High School: Brooklyn Technical High School
Affiliations: Posse
Major (intended): Psychology 
Minor: Portuguese
Main Extracurricular Activities: Mountaineering, Middlebury Mountain, FIRE, Bouldering, Soccer, Snowboarding, Women of Color
 

Hi! My name is Youer, and I’m from Queens, NYC. I love learning new languages, taking up new sports, and all sorts of animals! Back home, I worked as a car mechanic and had the privilege to fully immerse myself in the craft. Here, at Middlebury, I am a huge hiker and boulderer, and I’m excited to share my experiences! 

Where did you study abroad/where would you study abroad if you could?

I am looking forward to studying abroad in Florianopolis, Brazil! I am currently taking Portuguese every semester with no background in the Romance languages, and it’s been an incredibly fun and rewarding journey. The city is beautiful, and I am super excited to use what I have learned at Middlebury in a country I’ve always wanted to visit. 

Any tips for incoming students to help them make the most out of their Middlebury experience?

My biggest advice is to seek out connections and to be brave. Coming into college, I was terrified to make friends with my upperclassmen as they were significantly older than me. Even so, I’m glad I took the leap because it made my first-year experience unforgettable. I was able to make life-long friendships and was introduced to so many new hobbies that I now love. Be brave, and I promise that you will leave Middlebury with the same people you came into it with, and have them by your side even after you graduate. :) 

Why did you choose to attend Middlebury?

I chose to attend Middlebury because I have always been someone who is the “jack of all trades, but master of none”. I have so many passions, and I always felt like it’d be impossible for me to pick one thing and stick with it for the rest of my college experience. Middlebury was the perfect school for me to expand my horizons and take all sorts of classes that I previously may have never been able to. Middlebury is also incredibly different from my hometown, and it has given me numerous new opportunities to explore landscapes that were previously inaccessible to me, which has been incredibly rewarding.