Qiqi is a 4th-year graduate student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Her research focuses on viral phylodynamics of infectious diseases and its implications on public health and conservation. She's originally from Wenzhou, China. She was trained in Geographical Information Science in her undergraduate, with years of volunteering experience in environmental NGOs.

I always imagine I'm a tree and different skills are branches and leaves that could grow in the future. My professional development is a process of knowing myself and the world, and growing those branches and leaves. Connecting with alumni in my department opened my eyes to the career choices I could have as an EEB PhD and what skillsets I could aim to develop during graduate school. By doing what I want to try, I learn what I'm passionate about and what skills I'm already good at and what skills I'd need to learn more.

The GradFUTURES international students learning cohort helps me understand the unique strengths and challenges of international graduate students. Now as a Professional Development Associate, I'm excited to work with GradFUTURES to develop career development programs and events for international graduate students.