Posted: Saturday, July 18, 2015 5:00 am | Updated: 6:52 am, Mon Jul 20, 2015.

by Erik Sanbeck | 0 comments

Her name is Lauren, and her favorite color is purple.

That’s how Lauren Yunker, who graduated from Eden Prairie High School in 2011, has been introducing herself for the past four years, and it’s how she’s been identified by her classmates at Bemidji State University (BSU).

Lauren, the daughter of Scott and Carol Yunker of Aitkin, graduated from BSU in May of this year, with a major in history and three minors: one in social studies, one in world history and one in United States history. She is also one class away from minoring in geology, which she says she’ll “probably end up doing eventually.”

On July 3, Lauren departed for Weifang in northeastern China, to teach English to children, and will be attending Weifang Medical University. Lauren says that the program is advocated by BSU, and that she didn’t know what she wanted to do after graduation. “I was trying to figure out if I was going to get a history degree and be done, or try for an education degree and stay in school for another year,” she said, “but at that point I decided I was done with school, and of all the options available, China seemed like the most reasonable.”

Lauren made initial contact, through BSU, during the 2014 Christmas break, and will be spending a year in Weifang. Lauren said, “Within three months, I’ll decide if I like it or not. And if I do like it, I might find that a year isn’t long enough, and I’ll extend my stay either while I’m there or when I get back to America.”

“I’m going to be taking two classes while I’m there,” Lauren explained. “One of them is basic Chinese and one of them is something else.” She went on to say, “I’ll also be assisting in marketing and coordinating people in the area.”

Working won’t be all she’s doing in China, though. “I’m definitely planning on taking some time off,” Lauren said. “Weifang isn’t a coastal city, but for about $70, you can take a two-hour trip to the coast and stay at a hotel on the beach for a weekend.”

Lauren encourages anybody thinking about studying abroad to go for it. “If you have an opportunity, take it,” she said.

If anybody would like to contact Lauren for advice, basic resources to get started, or if you have any questions about the program, you can email her at mnchessmaiden@aol.com or at lauren.yunker@live.bemidjistate.edu