The Qian Liu Scholarship has been awarded to York University English Language Institute (YUELI) student Valeria Ricci, an international student from Chile. Valeria registered in YUELI’s Academic Program in January 2015, graduating with distinction and praise from her teacher, before going on to enrol in York University in winter 2015.

“Valeria is an excellent critical thinker and it showed in how quickly she picked up the nuances of spoken English and in her creative approach to learning,” says Adam Saleh, English Language Instructor at YUELI and Valeria’s teacher. “She was an outspoken student, with her discussion contributions helping her classmates learn and making the classes more enjoyable. I am so proud of what Valeria has achieved.”

Much like the student after whom the scholarship is named, Valeria did extremely well in her studies and achieved excellent results across the 4 key areas of English language study – reading, writing, speaking and listening. Valeria is currently pursuing a B.Sc. with Specialized Honours in Kinesiology & Health Science through the Faculty of Health at York University.

“Receiving this Scholarship was an experience that sparked many beautiful emotions, and I still can’t stop thinking about how lucky I am to be immersed in a community that truly values when effort and passion are put into one’s work” says Valeria. “I will always be immensely grateful to all the people behind the Qian Liu Scholarship as they have motivated and inspired me in my journey as a student and most importantly as a person.”

Each year, the scholarship is awarded to a student undertaking a YUELI program to improve their English language skills. The scholarship is in memory of former YUELI student Qian Liu. A memorial tree dedicated to Ms Liu is planted in the Founders College courtyard.

For more information on YUELI programs, please see the YUELI website.