INTO China Alumni Interviews
We truly believe that China is one of the most important destinations to study abroad in these days. As we are encouraging students to participate in our current campaign, which offers FIVE $1000 scholarships to study in China this summer, we reached out to a couple INTO China alumni, Ryan Ashbaugh and Jaila Cramer to give us their perspective on how their experiences in China positively changed the direction of their future careers.
Here’s what they had to say:
Abroad101: What interested you in learning Chinese and what sparked your desire to actually travel to China to participate in INTO China‘s summer program?
Ryan: To be honest, I had no preexisting desire to learn Mandarin, my goal was international experience for a potential future as an expatriate project manager/marketer. I was one of the first scholarship recipients for Dalian and having the experience paid for was my primary driver, followed closely by the fact that I was headed over to Singapore that summer anyway for a semester abroad.
But the INTO experience changed my direction drastically. Since my time in Dalian, I have been keeping up on my Mandarin as best I can. If I could, I would have enrolled in first year Chinese upon my return to OSU. However, as a graduating senior, enrolling in Chinese 111 in the middle of the year was not plausible.
I do have aspirations to return to China after I complete an internship through Oregon State University in the Winter of 2013. My plans are to live and work in China for an extended period of time as a means to emerge myself in the language. If you would more details surrounding my aspirations, I will be happy to elaborate further in another email.
Jaila: As a business major, China’s success story as a rapidly growing economy drew a lot of my initial attention to wanting to travel to China and become familiar with the language. However, the more I learned about China before, during, and even after my experience abroad has informed me of China’s rich and colorful culture, people, history, and modern day cities. I learned about the opportunity of traveling with the INTO Program through my university and was excited how well rounded the program presented itself. I thought traveling with INTO was the perfect opportunity to experience China as it incorporated major tourist sites such as the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square, along with language lessons, calligraphy, cooking and food, meeting local students, visiting local companies and many other wonderful activities. It is somewhere I highly recommend anyone travel and experience for themselves and INTO provides a strong avenue for doing so.
Abroad101: How do you think your experience in China will impact the rest of your time at Oregon State, as well as in your future career
Ryan: As a graduating senior, my academic destiny is already laid out. If I were a freshman or sophomore, I could easily see myself adding Chinese as a second major, minor, or personal interest. My career will be greatly impacted by this experience. I have already decided that China is where I want to begin building my career as an expatiate.
Jaila: My experience in China made me more open to working in a foreign country and gave me insight into the growing diversity and changing dynamic of the global workforce where outsourcing and international projects are becoming more integrated into current day career paths.
One of the most valuable lessons I walked away with from my summer abroad in China is a broader world perspective. I learned just how amazing it is to travel and be introduced to other peoples societies. It opened up the whole world for me to start considering possibilities to continue my graduate degree overseas and look for internship and career opportunities abroad.
Abroad101: What was your favorite aspect of the INTO China summer program?
Ryan: Seeing China (or Dalian) through the eyes of the students who lived there, i.e. Oliver, Jerry, Vivian, and Tami Ren!!! There is too much to say here, I could easily write a small novel on this topic. In summary, I would say say simply: Living in China as I lived in the US. Going to school, eating, socializing, etc.
I gave myself 3 choices: Immediately earn my MBA, work for Daimler Trucks, or go back to China with INTO as a paid or unpaid intern and further my Mandarin while contributing to INTO’s growth of the program. I chose the internship as it is highly competitive, but have never stopped thinking about the “what if” surrounding INTO China. If INTO would consider me, I know that I have much to offer the organization in the way of honesty, integrity, passion, and drive.
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We want to thank Ryan and Jaila for their candid responses and also INTO China for providing the five deserving applicants with the incredible opportunity to study in China this summer!
If you’re ready to see how great of an impact studying in China can have on your own future, click here to apply for one of the five scholarships to participate on INTO China’s program!
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