Who do you trust and why? I think one of the most important
things about education is learning to be a healthy skeptic when it comes to
words we read or listen to in classrooms or across a table with friends or
experts of all sorts. While I have not sat across a table from Obio Ntia, I
have read his words on a variety of forums and have Skyped with him too. In Part 1 of my interview with Obia, we learned how he became a global citizen.
Here we learn how he has become a trusted resource for those who wish to learn
about education in China today.
*******************************************************************************
 |
| Ningbo |
Do you think you began your time in China with any stereotypes?
Do you think your students had stereotypes about you?
I moved to China in 2011 initially to work as the western
college guidance counselor in the international division of a public high
school in Ningbo. By that time, I had already been the main international
admission officer for four years at Mount Holyoke College. I came with
notions that the students would mostly be ambitious go-getters because they're
in the international division, but I wouldn't say I really began with
stereotypes. I had also already spent a semester in Beijing, and I had
visited many Chinese schools for Mount Holyoke student recruitment. I had
never been to Ningbo, though, so I just had an open mind as to what Ningbo
might be.
As for student stereotypes about me, they certainly didn't
expect I'd be able to speak Chinese, that's for sure.
Ningbo is not a place many outside China know. Can you describe
it and perhaps the schools and the students there? I have visited the school
and know the city and I was quite impressed.
Ningbo is a major port city two hours south of Shanghai. I
work in the counseling offices of three international division schools there,
Ningbo Foreign Language School AP Center, Ningbo Zhenhai HS A-Level Center, and
Ningbo Xiaoshi HS IB Center. School-based college guidance counseling in
China is a relatively new career and the students at these schools are
benefiting from having counseling offices in their schools rather than having
to go to outside service providers if they want to study overseas.
 |
| Ningbo Xiaoshi HS |
Did your experience in teaching help you learn about the
pressure students are under there?
As a former Mount Holyoke College admission officer who read many
Chinese applications, I was keenly aware of the pressure students are under
there. It was a topic we college admission officers discussed somewhat
regularly.
Is this school where you first began to learn about the role of
agents and companies who many students in China use? Were you worried
about how much help the students were getting?
Actually, while I was studying in Beijing, I first learned about
some study abroad and overseas university application service agents in China.
While working in admission, though, this is when it was a serious
problem. After moving to Ningbo to work in several schools, I was
certainly worried about that. Many companies advertise widely and they
promote their results, which are attractive. They also can charge high
fees. Some of their services go counter to what we try to do as
school-based counselors. If I want to develop students' soft skills such
as their independent and critical thinking skills, creativity, writing skills,
planning skills and such, then the application process is one of many good
opportunities to do so. Some agents, though, would almost completely
write a student's application essay. This alone takes away an important
learning and character development opportunity and it hurts the student in the
long run.
 |
| Ningbo Fashion Fair |
You
then transitioned to one of the larger businesses that help students in China?
What was that initially like? What did/do you enjoy about it?
Dipont Education Management runs
the three international divisions in Ningbo that I mentioned. When I
first arrived in China, I worked solely as the main western college counselor
at Ningbo Zhenhai HS A-Level center then I transitioned to a position called
Counseling Quality Manager (CQM) for the six Zhejiang Province international
divisions: three in Ningbo, two in Hangzhou and one in Fuyang. I
certainly enjoy being at this crucial crossroad in so many students’ lives
where I get to help them shape their goals and vision. Also, US-bound
Chinese students are an incredibly interesting population for many reasons
largely related to their large and rapidly-growing numbers and to their
position influencing the future of what many call the world's most important
bilateral relationship.
Recently
you have set up a great entrepreneurial program for students in China. Can you
describe it?
I created the ObioNtia US-China Young Entrepreneurship Award for
enterprising Chinese high school students pursuing higher education and
business creation in the United States. It's a simple business plan
competition that's open to students from all over China. Applicants write
a very short business plan and the winner gets a small cash award plus
continued mentorship. That is the first of three scholarships that I
recently created under what I am calling OPN Innovation (OPN.i) awards.
Looking ahead, I see some pitfalls that US-bound Chinese students might
encounter in the US and Chinese job markets just based on their numbers, so I
wanted to create opportunities that help them create their own opportunities
instead of just hoping to land a job in an unreliable job market. So,
that's where the entrepreneurship thing came from, just a desire to reward
student creativity, innovation, long-term vision, and self-direction. And
to try to empower them to create job opportunities not only for themselves, but
also for others.
 |
| Ningbo |
I
have read many of your comments on issues affecting Chinese students. You seem
far more aware of the many challenges the students face than most. If you could
suggest how to reform the process of sending Chinese students abroad what would
be the most important issues you would address?
The way that I was trying to do so
that, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't been done elsewhere is through my
OPN.i scholarships. Due to the study abroad wave here, hordes of
companies take students' money to prepare them to head overseas. OPN.i is
trying to give away money! One of the awards is called the Sterling
College-OPN China Environmental Innovation Award for conservation-minded
students. It's an $80,000 scholarship to attend Sterling College in
Vermont, a small liberal arts college on a farm with a remarkably strong and
hands-on sustainable agriculture program. The aim of that award is
to help train world-class environmental stewards capable of devising creative
solution to China's--and the world's--most dire environmental problems. A
kid who gets that award will be on a certain "track", would be given
continued mentoring, and assistance interning with environmental organizations
to be well-positioned for post-college opportunities. And the
scholarship means significant savings in undergraduate costs. It's a
long-term plan.
Similarly, there's the UWSP-Muuzii-OPN
Innovation scholarship-internship program. That's a three-way
collaboration involving University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Muuzii Mobile
Technologies. UWSP provides the scholarship funds and winners would be
able to do progressively-responsible Muuzii internships for all four
undergraduate years with the potential to work full-time with Muuzii after
college. Muuzii is a mobile text-translation company that recently
signed major deals with AT&T. It's growing significantly and making
significant strides in the mobile education and mobile publishing space, so
it's exciting time for students to get involved.
Chinese students going overseas would
be well served to be ushered into growth industries, organizations and
companies that want to mentor and groom them for success and leadership in the
drastically different world we would live in five years from now when they
graduate.
Do
you think US colleges and universities contribute to the problems with agents
and less than scrupulous approaches to essays etc.? What should schools be
doing to help promote positive change?
Since US higher education is in
such high demand in China, practices that can be described as unscrupulous will
continue to be in demand. Admission officers who recruit in China often
do some messaging toward encouraging students to be authentic with their
applications and they sometimes warn against using agents who would falsify
materials.
 |
| Ningbo restaurants |
What
advice do you have for Chinese students looking to study abroad?
I think both parent and students need
to become wise consumers. The number of people assisting students applying to
secondary schools and colleges and universities means there is a huge range of
options. Some of the people helping students
know the process well and can provide invaluable assistance. Some helping
students are largely interested in making money and often engage in practices
that are unethical and not at all helpful to the students or the schools. Too
many schools in the US are turning a blind eye to the problems and this then
re-enforces and supports some of the unethical practices. Some schools in the
US seems to be more interested in enrolling full paying students than in providing
an education which will prepare them for future success. As a result, they
don’t often look closely enough at the credentials of the students. Many
students who want to apply without unethical help feel under pressure since so
many of their peers get this kind of help.
Are there any other issues you wish to address?
As the numbers of students from
China coming to the US continues to surge, the schools in China, the students,
the parents and educators need to think about how to regulate the process in
ways that will help all parties involved.
I would like to thank Obio for taking the time to share his
experiences and insights, both personal and professional. There are precious
few on earth who have had the kind of life journey he has had and we can all
learn from him. As jobs and connections continue to pop up the world over, his
courage in going abroad, in learning a language, and bringing passion and
ethics to his job should serve as a model for others. I have no doubt that his
efforts to promote entrepreneurship for Chinese students will be something
others will want to emulate. His innovative approach to creating opportunities
for student represents one way of ensuring students coming to the US learn
skills that will prepare them for later success.
While Obio has shared many things here, I want to share a very
important thing he left out. In just a few days there will be a party in China
to celebrate his recent engagement to a wonderful woman. I wish to congratulate
him here since I can’t jet off to China to be there in person.
No comments:
Post a Comment