Developing a Career Abroad
Temporarily putting aside his entrepreneurial lifestyle of bargaining
with Chinese factory owners, leading a Web-development team in Mandarin
and “eating dirt-cheap noodles every day because it was all we could
afford,” Dale is now furthering his business skills at Ctrip. In his
spare time he is helping others learn about opportunities in China,
joining 21 other young Trinity graduates based in 14 countries in the
launch of a resource network designed to supplement the U.S.-based area
alumni clubs.
The hub of Trinity’s globally focused programming efforts is the Center for Urban and Global Studies (CUGS), led by Professor Xiangming Chen. CUGS is intended to build synergistic linkages among academic programs on campus, experiential and service learning in the city of Hartford, and extended educational opportunities in the world. “I think the best way to prepare Trinity graduates for global careers is to expand our course offerings that reflect a more integrated coverage and treatment of the most important and pressing topics and issues concerning the global system,” Chen writes. “What may help distinguish Trinity in teaching these topics is to focus more comparatively and systematically on world cities as they are both dynamic and challenging but specific places where our graduates will work.”/p>
On a recent trip to one such world city—Beijing—Chen met Michael Cullinan ’07 and Charlotte Howard ’08, who are focused on launching a Trinity Club of China. “As we planned to move to Beijing, we realized the necessity of a significant networking tool for the Trinity community,” wrote Michael in a recent e-mail. “Hopefully the club will facilitate easier contact among students and alumni with regard to studying and working in China. As of now, there are approximately 50 members on the mailing list, and word is spreading very quickly as there are alumni in Beijing, Shanghai, and throughout the country.”
Cullinan traces his interest in living in China to his enrollment in Professor Michael Lestz’s first-year seminar on Himalayan people and culture, which culminated in a group trip to Nepal. Upon his return to Hartford, he declared an international studies major with a focus on East Asia and began to learn Mandarin, which he developed further during a semester of study at Fudan University in Shanghai. “China is such a dynamic and exciting place. It is interesting and rewarding to actually be part of China’s rise and history as it unfolds.” He further credits international studies professors such as Lestz, Naogan Ma, and Vijay Prashad for inspiring and supporting his ambitions.
For Howard, who majored in English literature, studied abroad in Paris,
and was interested in pursuing a career in journalism or television
production, the decision to move to Beijing was more spontaneous. “I
suddenly realized that Beijing offered as much opportunity for me as New
York City and the experience I could gain there would be incomparable to
a work atmosphere in the States. I simply thought ‘Why not?’”
Asked to describe Beijing, she says that it is “an affordable metropolis
for recent graduates, with opportunities that parallel New York City.
But it also offers a more exciting experience than the comfort of home
and it offers the chance to become fully immersed in another culture.
[It] feels like we have become part of something larger than we could
have ever imagined. The energy, urgency, and uncertainty are undeniably
apparent throughout Beijing.”
Drawn to London
Half a world away, Nat Silver ’02, a doctoral student in the history of Renaissance art, is a member of the increasingly large and vibrant community of alumni who call London home. These Bantams are drawn to the concentration of finance, business, media, and educational opportunities in the British capital, and they are making their mark.
