Sijia Yang

Sijia, who goes by Echo, is a student from China who came to the United States when she was in 10th grade. Back in China, she identified as Chinese, but because of the Western influence she faced growing up, she does not think or act in traditional Chinese ways. During the first three years of high school, Echo hung out with a lot of Chinese students. Because of this, her entire environment and high school experience are somewhat similar to what she would have experienced back in China. Although in high school she was shy and scared to talk to people due to her poor English-speaking ability, she has stepped out of her comfort zone and has made a lot of international and American friends since coming to LMU. She met her first American friends in her dorm because there were only two international students on her floor, and they wanted to learn more about China. Because of this, she wanted to make more American friends. She always shares her knowledge and points of view about China with her fellow students inside and outside of classes. After coming to the U.S., Echo became more outgoing and more confident in general, and also became a critical thinker with a more open-minded heart.