My name is Leilei Ji, an MBA student at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. The After Five [Bell Tower Toastmasters Club at the Health Sciences Library] was the  very first place I joined as soon as I arrived in the US from China. It opened a whole new world to me. Since 2015, the After Five has become one of my best experience in this country.

Firstly, as a non-English native speaker, I received a lot of constructive encouragement to speak up in English with the great help from the club members. Because of the After Five, I gained more courage to attend the case competiton, and finally won the first prize of that national competition.

Secondly, public speaking, used to be one of my top fears, has become something I could enjoy  because of the experience at After Five. With the practice and evaluation here, I am now way more confident to give a  speech in front of either small or large group of people, which is so helpful for me to thrive in the business environment.

Thirdly, After Five is such a joyful place for me to get relax and become a better self. This place is full of nice and warm hearted people to share their experience to help others. Especially for a foreigner like me, I was concerned about how to get involved into American culture. After Five has provided me such a great opportunity to feel comfortable and learn different perspectives.

In a word, After Five has helped me in both professional and personal sides, such as language,  presentation, and culture, etc. And I’m sure this amazing  place has made impact not only to me but also to dozens of my classmates and friends. Thank you for providing this great place to us.