Baylor Contestant Wins First Place in Texas State Japanese Speech Contest

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Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (March 30, 2015) – After winning first place at the Dallas regionals of the 2015 Texas State Japanese Speech Contest, Baylor senior Miki Wang said “konnichiwa”–Japanese for “hello”– to another first-place victory at the Texas State Japanese Speech Contest.
“When I heard her name called as the winner, I jumped up and probably shouted a bit,” said Yuko Prefume, senior lecturer in the division of Asian and African languages in the department of modern foreign languages in the College of Arts & Sciences. “In the end, it was a typical example of hard work paying off. She truly deserved it, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Going into the March 16 competition, Wang had no expectations of winning, she said. In the end, she beat out student contestants from San Antonio, Houston and Austin in the Free Speech College & University division. Her prize was a certificate, a trophy and a round trip ticket to Japan.
“It started as disbelief and then it hit me that I had won. I don't think anyone cheered louder than my professor, though,” Wang said.
“Forget about the free trip to Japan and the trophy. The best thing I received that day was the honor of being able to represent Baylor University and show the state of Texas what an amazing modern language and culture department we have,” Wang said.
Having the busy schedule of a pre-med student, Wang will most likely redeem her trip to Japan this upcoming winter break so she can travel with her family, she said.
“Learning a new language is not just about memorizing vocabulary words or understanding the grammar, it is about gaining new experiences and shaping who you are as a person. That is what I learned from studying Japanese and winning this competition,” Wang said.
by Sarah Czerwinski, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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