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| "Sam's Wonderland" |
Sean, Lingzhi, Sophia, Claire, Helen, Lemon and Luke. Over
the past few weeks I have had the chance to talk with each of these students about
their activities and accomplishments. They are an incredibly diverse group.
Two of them showcased their work in a concert as a part of
their distinguished majors programs in music. A number of them were designated
award winners presented by one of the largest student groups at their university
graduation dinner. One of them presented the findings of her honors thesis in
the selective program called political and social thought. One of them, a
studio art major, had her work on display as a part of a showcase; one of them
served as the president of a major student group. One of them led the singing
and celebration at one of the biggest social events of the year. One of them directed
a play that sold out all the seats in 25 minutes. Another played a starring
role in the same show. Some of them are graduating from their university. Some
are going to Wall Street to places like Morgan Stanley. One will be going to
Sloan at MIT for a Masters in Finance. One will be working for an NGO focused
on health issues in Washington. It’s hard to imagine a group of students who
display so many different skills, passions, and talents. All students I have just listed attend the same university in the US.
I did, however, forget to mention one thing. All of them are
from China. Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t. Many of the best students
from China are coming to the US to pursue their education and long-term dreams.
There are now well over 100,000 undergraduates enrolled in colleges and universities
across the US. What often happens in the media, however, is that all these students
are lumped together. Most stories about Chinese students focus on numbers: how
many students, what are their average test scores, how many of them are
enrolled at a specific campus. Occasionally there are stories of individual
students, but not many. And some of the stories that focus on individuals underscore on how difficult it has been
for them to adjust to the new culture in the US or how few of them immerse themselves
in the life of the school. While I am not questioning the accuracy of these
stories, they all too often leave out all the good news and all the exceptional
things these students do in and out of the classroom.
It’s a sad fact that stories about failures, disasters, and
threats comprise what gets headlines and what people often follow. Fear is a
guiding principle (as the horrid newsroom meme puts “it if it bleeds it
leads”). I don’t quite wish we could do what John Rockefeller did back in the
1920’s-- have someone cut out all the bad news from the newspaper before he
read it each day—as it is important to know what is going on in the world, but
there needs to be more good news.
What follows is a written form of a sound bite on about each
of the students I mentioned above. Consider it my attempt to make your day
better by giving some things to learn from and feel good about.
Lemon Guo and and Sophia Shen are two exceptionally talented
musicians. Their compositions incorporate the electronic innovations, while
also echoing or incorporating traditional music from China. At their concert as
a part of their distinguished music majors, they ended with a traditional song
but with modern arrangements. It was magical for all of us in the audience.
In a Faraway Land
Helen has a bright future ahead of her. She will be headed
to JP Morgan this summer to begin her job there. While a student she served as
mentor to younger students helping them adjust to a new culture but also
providing them with advice about getting involved in the life of her university
in ways that will challenge and change them. If you want to learn more about
how she did this you can read my interview with her here.
Phyllis Li And Sean Yu worked tirelessly to put on a
production of a play that was a big hit in Beijing: Rhinoceros in Love. The play
is funny, sad, and requires the cast to work both as an ensemble and
individually. There are lost of soliloquies, some songs, and lots more. I would
highly recommend anyone to see it. Phyllis is also a filmmaker and has been a part
of some documentary projects that could make a big splash at Sundance and other
festivals in the next year. Sean will be going to New York to begin a great job
in the financial industry. His university honored him by getting to live in one
of the historical rooms reserved for student leaders. He served as President of
Mainland Student Network, a group that mentors students who are enrolling. In
addition, they conduct interviews of prospective students to evaluate not just
their speaking ability but also their ability to talk about their goals and
activities. Both of them have bright futures ahead of them.
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| Sean |
Claire has been a leader, mentor and friend to many. She has
joined a Greek organization and is a part of the class trustees at her
university. While these things demonstrate her immersion into the life outside
the Chinese bubble that does happen at some schools that have thousands of
students from China. What is even more impressive is the work she has done as a
part of her major in political and social thought: Imagining the Future Through Demographic Lens: Challenges and Realities
for China’s Aging Population. Her thesis examines the huge issues China will face caring for its ageing
population. Several who have read it (including me) learned how important an
issue is for the future of China. She is currently in discussions with people
about getting it published. Her findings apply not just to China but also to all
points around the globe. She will be taking her expertise on this issue to Washington
DC to work for an NGO that focuses on this issue.
Luke has managed to
beat the odds. As an engineering student he learned a great deal about
analytics and data. That is not all that usual, but he will be headed to MIT’s
digital media lab this year after securing one of 8 spots on a research team.
The average age of the other researchers is 27. He is the only person going
directly from university into the program. He is all too modest about his accomplishments.
He does say he earned his spot not by having the highest GPA (which is still
quite good), but by having the skills and the ability to work well with others.
He had to go through 8 interviews and as anyone knows him can attest, he has
the soft skills that will make him a great person to work with.
Lingzhi is the first
studio art major from China to graduate from her university. Her work has
earned high praise from her department and as the photo below and the one at the top of this entry show, she knows
how to create beautiful and vivid images. As if this were not enough, Lingzhi
also has learned how to tap into the Chinese markets for both art and investments.
She earned enough from her investments this past year to pay back her parents
for their ‘investment’ in her education (well over $100,000). Her business acumen
and knowledge of art markets caught the attention of investors in and hedge
funds in China. She has a job waiting for her after she completes a Masters in
Finance at MIT’s Sloan School of business.
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| With Lingzhi and her art at her opening |
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I could give a lot
more short profiles to support my overall point that students from China are a
diverse group. They come from different cities, backgrounds, schools and ethnic
groups. Increasingly over the last decade, more and more students from China are choosing
majors based on passion and interest rather than what parents or pundits say is
the way toward economic success. Students are making documentaries, majoring in
African American Studies, doing study abroad in Africa, Central America and
more places all over the globe. To me at least, what all these students
demonstrate is that they add significantly both to the global culture of a
university but also contribute their individual experiences and interests that
add diversity even if they happen to have the same country of citizenship. But
at least some of the most selective schools keep the numbers of enrolling
students from China to no more than a handful or two. At the most selective schools,
the acceptance rate for students from China is far below the overall
acceptance rate for other international and US students who apply to Ivies and other elite
schools. I am not privy to the thinking about why some of the elite schools
keep the numbers so low from the most populous country in the world, but at
least one reason is the wish to spread the international mix of students from
different countries. While I agree with the sentiment behind this, I think that
at times at least, the desire to enroll a student from a country outweighs the
abilities and diversity an individual student can bring from a country as
diverse as China. The desire to demonstrate on a profile that schools enroll
students around the world, in other words, may make it harder for the diverse
group of student from China to get a chance to attend certain schools. Institutional
priorities at some schools favor statistics that help them in their specific
goals but at least some thought should be given to looking deeper than country
of origin to determine those priorities.
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