IO, Solo – Sabrina Rebecca Tiani, a student of the D-3 Mandarin Language Study Program, Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Surakarta, managed to win a double title in the Mandarin Festival V competition and Commemoration of Global Confucius Day, held October 27 to 4 November 2020. In the competition, organized by the Confucius Institute of the State University of Surabaya (Unesa), Sabrina won 2nd place and favorite winner in the Mandarin speech category and 2nd place and favorite winner in the photography category.
Sabrina’s achievements have proven that she can still excel during the COVID-19 pandemic, as she opens November this year on a sweet note. Sabrina said that the preparation for the Mandarin speech contest and the photography she was doing was very serious. To get maximum results for the competition, she purchased a Cheongsam or traditional Chinese dress.
“Cheongsam was bought four days before the race. Then I practiced the pronunciation for the speech so the style would not be stiff. And to prepare for photos, I looked for good photo spots on Google that match the theme,” she said, as quoted by uns. ac.id, Sunday (8/11/2020).
Sabrina said that the maximum results of the competition cannot be separated from the role of the supervisor who patiently accompanied her. Dian Adi Prasetyo, B. Ed., MTCSOL as the supervisor, helped her in correcting and perfecting the text of the speech she composed.
During the competition, Sabrina shared several challenges she had to face. Apart from fierce competition from other college students, she had to divide her preparation time for the competition with assignments and study needs. She said one day before the competition she had to find a photo spot at the Lotus monastery when the sun was about to set because she had to attend a class first.
“Luckily I got a good photo. I have to record video speeches up to five times to get the best results,” she said.
With these achievements, Sabrina said she was happy and grateful to be able to make UNS proud. She also hopes that she can win again in the next competition. “In the future, I hope I can develop, even more, be more enthusiastic about participating in competitions, have more confidence, and of course be more prepared.” (est)