Li Wang
Mr. Wang, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your work/family background, please?: I came from Beijing, China, where I was working in an electrical source company. My family came to the United States about four years ago by immigration. I wanted to help my son receive a better education at the University of Iowa. However, it was a great challenge for me, a nearly 50-year-old man, to start a brand new life. Although I had a bachelor’s degree in China, still I was not even able to communicate with others here. Thus, I decided to take courses at Kirkwood Community College to enhance my English and my professional skill so that I can find a job and take care of my family.
How did you get involved in our Industrial Technologies/Energy program?: I chose the Energy Production and Distribution Technology program mostly because I am familiar with this field, as Electric Power System Automation was my major when I was in university in China. Also, I believed it was a good choice to enroll in this program so that I can find a job easier in the future. By the way, my instructor, David W. Bennett, did a very good job of building a great lab including a real hub, nacelle and Amatrol equipment for training students. Also, a 2.5 MW wind turbine is running at Kirkwood Community College, which interests me a lot.
What have been the most interesting parts of your studies at Kirkwood?: There is much new stuff that I have never learned before, especially the data acquisition and analysis class. Sometimes I spent hours and hours just using the Excel (spreadsheet program). But I just enjoyed doing that, although that was not easy to me.
Along the same lines, Li—what have been your main challenges?: To be honest, I did feel some courses were much harder than I expected, especially for these topics that were totally new to me. However, that knowledge and those skills are very important. I can tell that my skills have been enhanced little by little by my hard work.
What are your plans after you complete your Kirkwood studies?: I will try my best to find a job at first, probably an electrician. However, I am very glad to continue my study at Kirkwood.
Li, do you have anything else you would like to add?: I really enjoy my school life at Kirkwood. It is totally a different experience compared with my last school studies, about 30 years ago. All the professors here are very nice and patient with me. That is one of the important reasons I believe I have been learning very well for the last couple of years. I really want to say “thank you” to all my instructors.