With the year winding down, Tsinghua students and alumni are once again filled with excitement and anticipation as they look forward to the fast-approaching 2021 Tsinghua International Students and Scholars Gala Night — one of the most popular annual events on the Tsinghua calendar, famous for impressive cultural performances from students and teachers from all over the world.
As much as the gala night is a carnival of fun and entertainment to welcome the new year, it is also a celebration of Tsinghua’s rich cultural diversity and talent.
After two years of her graduation, Kristina, a Tsinghua alumna from Russia, not only fondly recalls her time as the emcee for the Tsinghua Gala Night, but also, she says, is eagerly awaiting 2021 Gala Night, which will be shown online on Dec 20th at 7:00 PM.
Kristina was a freshman student at the School of Journalism and Communication when she got the chance to host the gala night as one of the emcees for the first time. It was 2014.
“I felt really lucky because rarely was a freshman chosen as the emcee for such an important event. The year I arrived, a senior was leaving so the registration staff advised me to sign up for the role of emcee, and luckily, I got picked,” said Kristina, who would go on to host the gala nights until her graduation in 2018.
Preparing for such a big event, and that also as the host, is never easy. Kristina says she had to overcome her stage fright with continuous practice, while rewriting the scripts to match the stage performances.
“It was quite exhausting to write and edit the scripts multiple times because there would always be some changes with the shows, and we also had the audience to think about,” Kristina recalled. “But along the way, I made many good friends, and it was worth it to be part of the planning of such a big event.”
With hard work comes great rewards. After hosting the Gala Night of 2016, Kristina was chosen to be one of the emcees for Tsinghua’s 2016 New Year’s Eve Festival, another major cultural event attended by prominent figures and faculty members, among others.
“Tsinghua’s New Year’s Eve Festival takes place in a much more professional environment, and I was very nervous, as it was my first time being the emcee for such a big event,” Kristina said. “But the learning experience was rewarding.”
After finishing her master’s in St. Petersburg, Kristina has returned to Beijing, working as a media strategist at the Russian Cultural Center. Around this time of the year ever since she graduated, she says, she cannot help but feel nostalgic about her days preparing for and hosting the gala nights at Tsinghua.
The gala night this year is going to be held both online and offline due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which means many students and alumni like Kristina who are away from campus can also enjoy the show, that also from the comfort of their home.
“I hope I could become part of the audience this year. It would bring back some good memories,” Kristina said.
Writer : Katherin Thouvenin
Editors : John Olbrich, Sangeet Sangroula,Liu Shutian
Designer : Bella Lim
