Talking business in China: alumnus passes on his experience to students
David J. Murphy ’77, who has spent the last 25 years working in Taiwan, Shanghai, Manila, Hong Kong, and Beijing, returned to Trinity in April to share his knowledge with current students. He is currently the United States commercial counselor for Australia and New Zealand. In that position, he is a member of the Embassy Country Team of the U. S. Consulate General in Sydney, and is responsible for supervision and coordination of all U. S. government commercial activities in the two countries. The event was a combined effort of Lanna Hagge, director of Trinity’s Office of Career Services, and Xiangming Chen, dean and director of the Center for Urban and Global Studies.
In a question-and-answer
session, Murphy
encouraged the students
to contact their legislators
directly to voice concerns
over the question of
whether or not the United
States should boycott
the opening ceremony
of the Beijing Olympics.
In response to questions
about the students’ efforts
to learn Mandarin, he
encouraged them to
avoid the conventional
notion that it is one of the
most difficult languages
and to see that it is
indeed achievable, given
proper diligence. He also
encouraged the audience
to bolster their search for
jobs in China through
internships and social
networks.
