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Meet Yuxing Jia (Eva)

Fun fact about me

I’m a huge dog person but I’m allergic to all dogs!

Why I chose Western

Western has one of the best business degrees in the country and an amazing program that offers this kind of broad degree. So, I can balance my family's expectations and study business, while also pursuing my own interests on the social sciences side.

Highlights of my Western Experience

I have a lot of favourite memories, whether it’s talking with my friends on UC Hill, or visiting my professors for a coffee chat or office hours. The best part is you are always finding friends that share the same interests as you.

I really enjoy meeting people from diverse backgrounds, and that even though we sometimes speak different languages, we're able to find similarities. I found Western to be very inclusive. I had a peer mentor when I first arrived and then I was a Peer Guide to help other new international students. I loved being able to help international students fit into the Western community and navigate London.

Another important highlight for me was that I was able to participate in two internships. I completed one internship working at an insurance broker company on the commercial risk team doing risk analysis and another as a research assistant for a professor to better understand how research is conducted. Doing both internships helped as I decided whether I want to pursue a more academic path, or a more career-orientated path. Even though I have now decided to accept an offer from the company that I interned for, I have a love of research now too and may decide to go back to that in the future. It’s great to have the choice. I think internships are a great way for you to just experiment and navigate different kinds of opportunities for yourself.

What's next for me

I am returning to the company in Toronto where I completed my internship, but in a slightly different role supporting their internal finance team.

In the future, after a few years working at the company and learning about the company’s strategy and more about the employee perspective, I hope to find a way to focus on promoting equality and inclusivity in the workplace. I’m passionate about that, and my research internship focused on it too. Doing that would combine knowledge from both my degrees.

My advice for new students

My biggest piece of advice is to not be afraid of being who you are in the Western community because it's very inclusive. For international students. I would say not to make your language or any special identity factors be the barriers that stop you from pursuing anything that you want to at Western. There are support programs to help you and the staff and your classmates are very friendly and willing to accept you as you are.