The interview was conducted by Toyin Olanipekun, a doctoral student in Second Language Acquisition and a project assistant at the Language Institute (March, 2025). The transcription below is abridged.
Zhijie: Hello. My name is Zhijie Wang. I am a first-year PhD student in the Second Language Acquisition program and currently working as a Chinese teaching Assistant at UW-Madison.
Toyin: What has been your experience so far in the SLA program?
Zhijie: I think my experience in the SLA program is somewhat interesting and chilling because we don’t have a very fixed department as the other PhD programs but, I also feel supported by our program and connected with program members. We have sharing activities throughout the semester. And we also have seminars we attend together. It’s pretty good so far.
Toyin: Outside of your studies, how is life in Madison?
Zhijie: I think life at Madison is not so interesting but it is very relaxing for me because Madison has really good scenery and the people here are very nice. And also I get a really good balance between my work, my study, and my research. So, I can have a lot of time to explore Madison and also find opportunities to meet new friends.
Toyin: How do you balance your academic responsibilities with your personal life?
Zhijie: I think for PhD students, balancing the research, study, and teaching is somewhat difficult. But since all of these tasks are things that I really want to do, for me, it is not that hard because I take them as enjoyment rather than my duty or an emotional burden.
Toyin: What is one thing you are open to sharing with us about yourself?
Zhijie: Maybe that I am a chef, but it sounds really arrogant. But I do love making food for my friends. In this semester, I tried to save some money, so I started to make meals for me and some of my friends. I really enjoy making meals because I can just prepare some ingredients and try to follow the instructions, and then we have delicious food. And then, my friends will always give me some really positive comments, even though I don’t think my food is tasty.
Toyin: Do you want to talk about the photo you shared?
Zhijie: The photo I shared is from my session in this year’s “Languages of the World Day.” So, basically, I needed to do a cultural presentation. The topic was about ghosts in Chinese culture, and the picture shows [me] pointing to one of my audience’s paintings of a ghost. And I think the session is really interesting. Originally. I was nervous about it because I had never presented my own culture in front of many students, especially high school students. But, when I started to do it, I found it really interesting and exciting and very meaningful for me because I really like this kind of opportunity to share. And I really thank the Language Institute for giving me this wonderful opportunity.
Toyin: Thank you very much.
Zhijie: You are welcome. It’s my pleasure.
To learn about Zhijie’s research, see zir profile.
Below is the video interview.