2018-2019 Intern: Jake

Jacob (Jake) Liu interned at AllSet Learning from October 2018 all the way until May of 2019. He was a huge help with graded reader testing, teacher feedback, and Chinese Grammar Wiki editing. Jake's take on the internship experience:

Studying abroad in China was always a foregone conclusion in my mind, even years before I reached high school. I am half-Chinese, though I spent my childhood growing up in the United States. I did not have many opportunities to explore my Chinese identity while in the States, though I always reassured myself that I would have the opportunity upon reaching college. I ended up attending New York University, which happens to have one of the largest Chinese study abroad programs in the world, so I was fortunate to be able to fulfill my goals and spend my Junior year abroad in Shanghai. One of my only goals in China was to further my Chinese abilities. Luckily, a family friend put me in touch with John at AllSet Learning, and a few months later I found myself already working on one of AllSet Learning's many projects. When I found out there was a rule that I would only be able to speak Chinese in the office, I had some reservations, considering I only had studied Chinese for a couple of years. However, I embraced the challenge, thinking that this would give me excellent practice and would provide the benefit of supplementing my Chinese studies in the classroom. Sure enough, my time at AllSet Learning has definitely contributed towards my increased confidence in speaking Chinese in my daily life and even with random strangers. This was my first experience interning for a company, and I can say I'm glad AllSet Learning was my first! Beyond seeing my Chinese abilities grow, I also came to better understand the experience of working on a small team. I knew that John, 李老师, and 马老师 often relied on me doing a good job with any task that I was given, so I always felt like my work here was meaningful, and I can even say that I helped see the Intermediate Chinese Grammar Wiki Book and the HSK 1 Book to their ends! Whenever I got stuck on a job, I always felt like I could rely on John, 李老师, or 马老师, for guidance. The added benefits of working with these wonderful people and accruing this kind of job experience has given me more than I could have ever asked for. I had a blast working at AllSet, and I definitely will not be able to think of my time in Shanghai without thinking about AllSet. 谢谢大家！

You were part of the AllSet family for so long (and also did so much great work, even helping us move office!) that it was really hard to see you go, Jake. Come back and visit us anytime.