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"Buzz and Connection": Alumna Inspires Students through Interactive Q&A Session

October 28, 2025

"Buzz and Connection": Alumna Inspires Students through Interactive Q&A Session

A group of people stand and talk in a classroom with green chairs and overhead lights. Some hold plates of food. The room appears to be set up for a casual gathering or event.

On the cool evening of October 27th, 2025, Mendenhall Laboratory 115 was buzzing with energy. The aroma of local Chinese food and the sound of hearty laughter filled the air as about 30 students from DEALL, EASC, and other programs on campus packed the room. They were all there for one reason: to get the inside scoop on college and career success from DEALL and EASC alumna Justine Franklin (BA '17, MA '22).

The event ignited with an interactive Q&A over dinner, moderated by DEALL graduating Chinese seniors Xinyao Chen and Lorraine May. They channeled the curiosity of their peers, posing around 20 pre-collected questions that dove straight into what our students really want to know: How do you leverage language studies for career success? How do you better position yourself for graduate school? How do you translate your college education for the professional world? And many more.

Drawing from her role as a research associate at a non-profit — a job that perfectly merges her background in Chinese (from her BA and MA), applied economics (from her second MA), and international studies (from her BA) — Justine offered invaluable, real-world insights that the audience clearly related to.

The conversation did not stop there. The second half of the event opened up to the entire audience, and the enthusiasm was palpable. Students eagerly continued to ask Justine to dive even deeper into her current job and her OSU journey, sparking a wider discussion about college life, language study, graduate school application, and the job market. The event was a genuine community conversation, as some students also shared their own experiences such as double majoring, study abroad, and internships. DEALL professors Meow Hui Goh and Zhiguo Xie also joined in, sharing their own perspectives on the power of majoring in East Asian languages.

While the event officially concluded at 8:30 p.m., the connections being forged were just getting started. Long past 9 o’clock, many students stayed behind to engage with Justine and with one another, a clear sign of the event's impact. The evening was a powerful reminder of the collegiality and enthusiasm among our students and at the heart of our department, which looks forward to hosting more events like this in Spring 2026.