After that the seeds of curiousity were planted, and there was no turning back. When I was ten I started learning Chinese at my hometown primary school in Queensland, Australia. During high school I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to study in a Chinese immersion program - one of the only of its kind in the southern hemisphere so I'm told - where I learnt four of my mainstream subjects (language, social science, mathematics and information technology) in the Chinese language. To put it mildly, I became addicted, and devoured any book on Chinese I could get my hands on.

At the end of 2004 I graduated from high school and received an invitation and scholarship to study at the University of Tasmania. There I met people who shared my passion for language. It also fuelled my love for creative writing and theatre, and I would go on to act in and direct a number of plays with the university drama society PLoT.

In 2007 I finished my Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English and Chinese and was selected for the Honour Roll for outstanding achievement from the School of Asian Languages. At that time, all I knew was my passion for the language, and had no idea what I could do with it career-wise. I applied for post-graduate programs in Translation Studies in Melbourne, and received offers from Monash and RMIT University.

I ended up enrolling in the Masters program at RMIT and loved every minute of it. The course really opened my eyes to the complexities of translating and the thrill of the profession. I graduated with distinction and the highest mark for a minor thesis in the program.

My goals for 2011 are to continue teaching English in Melbourne while training with my mentors to improve my interpreting skills. My dream is to become a professional community interpreter, and I know that with all the talented people and amazing opportunities in this city I will be able to realise it.