Yuqi Tian majored in Italian Studies, Geography, Comparative Literature with minors in Gender & Women's Studies and a Certificate in New Media. She was part of the campus-wide campaign to celebrate multi-lingualism and language learning on the UC Berkeley Campus from 2023-2025. This short interview reveals Yuqi's love for Italian Studies and language learning.
What classes or languages have you learned at Berkeley?
I'm obviously studying Italian language and I just started studying Dante's Inferno. I’m also taking classes about various cities, which ties in well with my geography major.
Why did you choose to study Italian?
It’s a bit complicated. When I first got into Berkeley, I was a Comparative Literature major. I wanted to keep studying English, but I hadn’t had many opportunities to learn other languages while growing up, so I thought, “I should probably try something different.” I wanted to learn a language that was completely different from Chinese, so I was deciding between Italian and Portuguese. I was also looking for a supportive department—something smaller, with a strong sense of community. The Italian department shares a building with Comparative Literature, so it felt close-knit.
What advice would you give to students who are interested in studying languages at Berkeley?
I’d say don’t take it for granted. Learning a language requires effort, and it can be challenging, but it’s definitely rewarding. My advice is to embrace the process, even if it’s difficult—especially conjugations! If you’re coming from a background in a language like Chinese, where you don’t deal with conjugations, it can be a big adjustment. But overall, it’s a fun experience. Just try not to overburden yourself and enjoy it.