The Liu brothers have changed their skates for gowns | University of Debrecen

Sándor Liu Shaolin graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and Marketing and Liu Shaoang graduated with a Bachelor of Sports and Recreation Management. Although they passed their final exams in June, they were unable to attend the graduation ceremony because they were away at a training camp; they donned their robes at the opening ceremony and officially received their degrees. In recognition of their outstanding sporting achievements, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration's Council also awarded them the title of Outstanding Athlete of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
- We had heard a lot of good things about the University of Debrecen, we had visited the city relatively often for training camps and competitions, we had liked the atmosphere, so when we had the opportunity to apply to the university, there was no question that we would immediately take it - said Liu Shaoang, or as he is known to many, Ádó.

- Whenever we could, we also went to face-to-face consultations in Debrecen, but we mostly took our classes online, received materials from our teachers, and were helped by our mentors and fellow students, too" said Liu Shaoang, whose brother added that they were very grateful to the university and their teachers for all the support they received.
- Even if we had to miss a lot of school because of some major competition, we were able to make up for it, and the supportive community played a huge role in that. Fortunately, we are there for each other when we get stuck, and this is also the case in studying. I don't deny that during training sessions or even competitions, we were thinking about what we should submit, what we should be studying, but it's also true the other way round. Sometimes it is difficult to change the mind, but the point is that we have succeeded, we have managed to balance well and we are doing well in both areas," said Liu Shaolin.

Looking ahead to the future, the elder Liu brother will continue his studies at DE GTK in English-medium Commerce and Marketing. Alongside him, his brother is also flirting with the idea of pursuing a master's degree after his BSc.

Sándor Liu Shaolin and Liu Shaoang's mentor Krisztina Dajnoki is very proud of the boys, with whom the work together went very smoothly.
- I managed to convince first Ádó and then Shaolin that it was worth their while to start learning, because due to our mentoring program they will be able to combine their sport and their studies. It wasn't easy, but we worked well together, we knew the competition schedule at the beginning of the semester and we were able to put together the university schedule. Both the head coach and the instructors were partners in restructuring the timing of the reports and exams. I admit I was a bit worried about how this would work, but both sides have adapted well," said the DE Vice-Dean of Science at the DE GTK.

Éva Bácsné Bába, Deputy Dean of Strategy and Communication at DE GTK, emphasized that she enjoyed working with Ádo throughout the whole time, and her favorite memory is writing the thesis with him, with whom she consulted weekly, and finally they managed to produce a very nice thesis.
- The joint project also required a little extra work on the part of the lecturers, because they often had to adapt the requirements a little to what they were used to. The focus was on online teaching, in which all our colleagues were partners. Despite all this, it made it easier for us that the boys were respectful and dedicated throughout, you could feel that they wanted to do it, and both sides managed to get the best out of it. We were able to learn from them, too, and real friendships were formed. Our faculty, the whole university, is very proud that they graduated with us", summarized the Director of the Institute of Sport Economics and Management, the person responsible for the sports students.

Press Centre - KSzD