University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Tiffany Yue
October 28, 2020 | Cross Country, Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Tiffany Yue spent a good chunk of her time during the spring and summer working on essays to go with her applications to medical schools. The Georgia cross country senior also did plenty of running, of course, and also found time for some family games of badminton.
In addition, Yue, from Lawrenceville, Ga., started learning how to write in Chinese, a language she learned to speak from her parents when she was young but hadn't yet learned to write. During a recent Quick Chat, Yue talked about her start in running, keeping busy during quarantine, her plans for the future and much more.
Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Do you remember when and how you got started running?
Yue: I tried out for running in middle school. I thought I was a sprinter which turned out to not be the case [laughs], and freshman year of high school my friends really got me on the team. I think I owe a lot to my coach at the time who really pushed me to get involved in the sport. He was a big reason why I started taking it more seriously.
Frierson: What was it about distance running that appealed to you? I don't think there are that many high school boys and girls that want to go out for a long run?
Yue: I think for me, I definitely have a competitive streak and I really like that kind of head-to-head competition you get. But I also appreciated how much of a team effort it is. My teammates became some of my best friends and it was something that we did together.
Frierson: Where is the prettiest place you've ever gone for a run?
Yue: A couple of summers ago, my family went to Canada and we stayed for a while in Banff, the national park, and that was absolutely amazing. Between the scenery and just the fact that they have hundreds of miles of paths for people to run and hike on, I think I could run there forever.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Yue: I used to play piano and flute but not anymore. I'd probably get back into that if I could.
Frierson: What did you get better at during the spring and summer when we were all hunkering down? Did you pick up any new hobbies or improve a lot in some other area?
Yue: My family and I started playing badminton so I got pretty good at that. I'm not usually one for hand-eye coordination sports, but that was a lot of fun.
I also started teaching myself to write in Chinese, something I had always wanted to learn. It's definitely very difficult but I'm slowly working my way through it.
Frierson: I'm always amazed when I see Chinese writing because you have to practically be an artist to do it, and I'm someone that's had terrible handwriting his whole life.
Yue: My parents taught me to speak Chinese from an early age and that's definitely been a big part of why I've been able to stay with relatives overseas. Writing's always been hard just because you have to memorize every character. It's not like English where you piece together letters.
It's been a lot of fun. It's definitely an artistic thing, like you said, every word has an order of how you're supposed to write it. I've been going through a whole notebook of practicing. I've enjoyed it.
Frierson: We've got Halloween coming up soon, so what is your favorite Halloween candy?
Yue: Ooh, that's a tough one. I think I'd have to say Reese's, from the freezer. A friend told me to try that once and it's pretty good.
Frierson: Did you have a favorite Halloween costume when you were a kid?
Yue: I think I always dressed as classic things. I do remember I dressed as the red Teletubby. I had a lot of fun with that because that was my favorite TV show as a kid.
Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?
Yue: That's a hard one because there is definitely a long list of places I want to go. I have always wanted to visit Thailand, that seems like a very cool place and I'm a big fan of Thai cuisine. And I'd probably take some of my friends from high school, for a big trip together.
Frierson: Do you remember your favorite toy from when you were young?
Yue: I was always a big fan of jigsaw puzzles, especially the 1,000-piece puzzles that were a lot of fun.
Frierson: Early in the pandemic I bought a really, really hard one that I thought would be a fun challenge, but within a few days I sold it on eBay because I didn't have the patience to work through it.
Yue: I try not to buy the ones where it's like a big stretch of blue sky or something that's all uniform because I know it will be nearly impossible.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Yue: I guess maybe speaking multiple languages, I think that would be super cool. To be able to connect with people from all different walks of life, I'd love to be able to do that.
Frierson: Do you only speak English and Chinese now?
Yue: Yeah, and I can speak a little bit of very basic Spanish. It's been a few years since I've taken Spanish, though.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing 10 years from now?
Yue: Hopefully I'll be working and employed [laughs]. I guess I don't really know where I want to live right now, that might depend on where I go to medical school. Hopefully I will have a better idea of what kind of specialty I want to do and just finally be practicing medicine after all these years of studying in school.
Frierson: Are there one or two specialties that are your primary interests?
Yue: I think right now I'm leaning toward more general, like internal medicine, but I'm definitely excited for that part of medical school, just to experience all of the different specialties that are out there.
Frierson: What initially drew you to medicine and wanting to be a doctor?
Yue: It's something I've had in the back of my mind for a long time just because I've seen family members dealing with health challenges and things like that. I think it's just been my own encounters with the medical system, volunteer experiences and shadowing. I think it's an all-around incredible career and a way to help people and to really build those unique interactions with people. It's not something that a lot of professions allow you to do.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Tiffany Yue spent a good chunk of her time during the spring and summer working on essays to go with her applications to medical schools. The Georgia cross country senior also did plenty of running, of course, and also found time for some family games of badminton.
In addition, Yue, from Lawrenceville, Ga., started learning how to write in Chinese, a language she learned to speak from her parents when she was young but hadn't yet learned to write. During a recent Quick Chat, Yue talked about her start in running, keeping busy during quarantine, her plans for the future and much more.
Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Do you remember when and how you got started running?
Yue: I tried out for running in middle school. I thought I was a sprinter which turned out to not be the case [laughs], and freshman year of high school my friends really got me on the team. I think I owe a lot to my coach at the time who really pushed me to get involved in the sport. He was a big reason why I started taking it more seriously.
Frierson: What was it about distance running that appealed to you? I don't think there are that many high school boys and girls that want to go out for a long run?
Yue: I think for me, I definitely have a competitive streak and I really like that kind of head-to-head competition you get. But I also appreciated how much of a team effort it is. My teammates became some of my best friends and it was something that we did together.
Frierson: Where is the prettiest place you've ever gone for a run?
Yue: A couple of summers ago, my family went to Canada and we stayed for a while in Banff, the national park, and that was absolutely amazing. Between the scenery and just the fact that they have hundreds of miles of paths for people to run and hike on, I think I could run there forever.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Yue: I used to play piano and flute but not anymore. I'd probably get back into that if I could.
Frierson: What did you get better at during the spring and summer when we were all hunkering down? Did you pick up any new hobbies or improve a lot in some other area?
Yue: My family and I started playing badminton so I got pretty good at that. I'm not usually one for hand-eye coordination sports, but that was a lot of fun.
I also started teaching myself to write in Chinese, something I had always wanted to learn. It's definitely very difficult but I'm slowly working my way through it.
Frierson: I'm always amazed when I see Chinese writing because you have to practically be an artist to do it, and I'm someone that's had terrible handwriting his whole life.
Yue: My parents taught me to speak Chinese from an early age and that's definitely been a big part of why I've been able to stay with relatives overseas. Writing's always been hard just because you have to memorize every character. It's not like English where you piece together letters.
It's been a lot of fun. It's definitely an artistic thing, like you said, every word has an order of how you're supposed to write it. I've been going through a whole notebook of practicing. I've enjoyed it.
Frierson: We've got Halloween coming up soon, so what is your favorite Halloween candy?
Yue: Ooh, that's a tough one. I think I'd have to say Reese's, from the freezer. A friend told me to try that once and it's pretty good.
Frierson: Did you have a favorite Halloween costume when you were a kid?
Yue: I think I always dressed as classic things. I do remember I dressed as the red Teletubby. I had a lot of fun with that because that was my favorite TV show as a kid.
Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?
Yue: That's a hard one because there is definitely a long list of places I want to go. I have always wanted to visit Thailand, that seems like a very cool place and I'm a big fan of Thai cuisine. And I'd probably take some of my friends from high school, for a big trip together.
Frierson: Do you remember your favorite toy from when you were young?
Yue: I was always a big fan of jigsaw puzzles, especially the 1,000-piece puzzles that were a lot of fun.
Frierson: Early in the pandemic I bought a really, really hard one that I thought would be a fun challenge, but within a few days I sold it on eBay because I didn't have the patience to work through it.
Yue: I try not to buy the ones where it's like a big stretch of blue sky or something that's all uniform because I know it will be nearly impossible.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything for a day, just to experience it, what would it be?
Yue: I guess maybe speaking multiple languages, I think that would be super cool. To be able to connect with people from all different walks of life, I'd love to be able to do that.
Frierson: Do you only speak English and Chinese now?
Yue: Yeah, and I can speak a little bit of very basic Spanish. It's been a few years since I've taken Spanish, though.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing 10 years from now?
Yue: Hopefully I'll be working and employed [laughs]. I guess I don't really know where I want to live right now, that might depend on where I go to medical school. Hopefully I will have a better idea of what kind of specialty I want to do and just finally be practicing medicine after all these years of studying in school.
Frierson: Are there one or two specialties that are your primary interests?
Yue: I think right now I'm leaning toward more general, like internal medicine, but I'm definitely excited for that part of medical school, just to experience all of the different specialties that are out there.
Frierson: What initially drew you to medicine and wanting to be a doctor?
Yue: It's something I've had in the back of my mind for a long time just because I've seen family members dealing with health challenges and things like that. I think it's just been my own encounters with the medical system, volunteer experiences and shadowing. I think it's an all-around incredible career and a way to help people and to really build those unique interactions with people. It's not something that a lot of professions allow you to do.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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