01 Why DKU?
In the past, getting out of comfort zone was just a slogan that fell on paper, and the concept of global citizenship was distant but untouchable. Although I know that I should treat things with an inclusive attitude, I lack the experience of cross-cultural communication. It is difficult for me to have the confidence to navigate the diversity of the world. However, after learning more about DKU, I realized that it would be the golden ladder to help me grow multidimensional. Through DKU’s platform, I can get used to facing various challenges, accepting complex information, and standing in a changing world. DKU is an innovative solution for higher education. In the eyes of others, this is not a “normal” road, but it is my heart.
02 Rich Internship Experience
At DKU, theory and practice often meet well. My major is Economics with Public Policy track. In class, we often conduct cost-benefit analysis on specific policies in a certain field and then give corresponding suggestions for policy improvement.
In order to get a more vivid taste of what this process can do, I submitted and received an internship Offer from Deloitte Strategic Consulting. In the project team, I was responsible for participating in the writing of the 14th Five-Year Plan for the cultural industry of Bengbu City, Anhui Province, and focused on providing strategic suggestions for the reform and development of digital entertainment and arts and crafts. Although I had no relevant experience before, I quickly adapted to the work content by virtue of the fast-learning method I mastered in the interdisciplinary courses of DKU and the thinking mode of practical case analysis, and the final results were highly praised by the government.
In the later years of college, I successively interned in different positions in consulting companies such as Boston Consulting Group and Roland Berger. In addition to the private sector, I also participate in the public sector, such as the United Nations, UNESCO ASPnet and other Associated Schools and Networks. These internship experiences are more like an extension of school courses and experiences, which require a high degree of flexibility and toughness. In practice, the knowledge learned in class is well applied, and opportunities and challenges that are difficult to identify in theory can be found, thus further consolidating my problem-solving ability and execution ability.
03 Meaningful Entrepreneurship Experience
In 2020, with my twin brother and Emma Lee from California, we started our own cultural consulting company, SPAIDEA Lab, with the support of our school’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. The birth of this project stems from the problem I observed in a campus cross-cultural activity, that is, the barriers caused by cultural barriers to students with different cultural backgrounds in the early stage of cross-cultural communication. I found that students were not willing to actively interact with students with different cultural backgrounds in the early social stage and were more willing to get to know students with similar growth backgrounds. From this, we came up with the idea of providing customized event planning and consulting services for different types of cross-cultural communities to promote community growth.
Entrepreneurial Project “SPAIDEA Lab”
SPAIDEA Lab’s service targets include but are not limited to UNESCO ICUA, Dulwich International School, etc. We have planned online food workshops for social multicultural groups, taking hometown food as a common cultural element to open a deeper cultural exchange; We have also held a manual book philosophy exchange meeting for the first-year students of Dulwich International School to build an effective communication platform for children with diverse cultural backgrounds with the goal of philosophical enlightenment. This entrepreneurial experience has greatly improved my autonomy in identifying problems, the accuracy of structural solution strategies, and the efficiency of implementing solutions. More importantly, I learned the social responsibility that I should bear as a DKU student.
04 Interesting Cross-Cultural Experience
As a basic quality that a world citizen should possess, cross-cultural communication ability can be fully trained in the study and life of DKU. For me, whether I work as a Resident Assistant to interact with residents from different countries, organize cultural exchange activities with different themes, or serve as a member of the organizing committee of the Duke-UNC Summit to have face-to-face exchanges with influential scholars and politicians from China and the United States, I am both a beneficiary and a promoter of cross-cultural communication.
Participated in activities while serving as RA
One of the activities that impressed me deeply was that I served as the accompanying interpreter for the Serbian Ambassador and Commercial Counselor to China in the New Year party of China’s Central and Eastern European Cooperation. In just three days of activities, through the in-depth communication with ambassadors, I was very fortunate to glimpse and truly feel the culture of this distant country of Serbia, from food to festivals, from songs to education. At the same time, I also gave foreign guests a deeper understanding of Jiangnan architecture, customs and Chinese culture through my own explanation. At the time of the farewell, Mr. Marjan Bozovic, the commercial counselor, was still humming the Chinese folk song “Jasmine Flower” that I had taught him.
Translation for foreign ambassadors of China’s Central and Eastern European Cooperation
05 Why Love DKU?
I’m sure everyone fell in love with DKU for different reasons, whether it was the professor who insisted on opening a class for even one student, the “Welcome back” note left on the door by roommates from different hemispheres, or the magnolia that was projected on the window of the conference center in early April Spring. I also believe that although we have different descriptions of DKU, DKU is unique in our hearts. Here, everyone is not required to suppress or change their own personality, on the contrary, everyone is encouraged to cultivate a suitable field. Here, education is not to prejudge the direction of anyone’s development, but to help everyone tap the sincerest desire in the heart. Therefore, I will definitely fall in love with, and have already fallen in love with, this “utopian” campus that allows us to be free without losing self-discipline and is diverse but not confused.
06 Keys Words During 4-years Undergraduate
For Freshman year, it’s perception, perception difference, odor diversity. Entering a multicultural environment for the first time, we feel great differences, but this does not mean division. In different personalities, different viewpoints, and different cultures, I constantly shape a more expansive vision and three-dimensional cognition.
Sophomore year was about exploring, exploring the path that suits me, and exploring the stars that I can touch. At this stage, I learned more how to independently seek and use the resources provided by the school platform, and at the same time, I was more motivated to explore and try different fields, and find my own path in the inclusive DKU.
My junior year is about connecting my past experiences and future expectations. On the one hand, I am reviewing my past experience, and based on the exploration in my sophomore year, I have a more comprehensive review of my own abilities and goals. While summarizing the past, I also project my vision into the future and think about the future plan.
The senior year is for me to meet the uncertainty in a better state. Four years is neither short nor long for me. The interdisciplinary thinking mode cultivated in DKU, the inclusive values formed and the like-minded classmates I meet will affect my lifelong value judgment and behavior choice. I will bring the unique characteristics that DKU gives its students – global citizens with national roots, to meet the future of a highly uncertain international society and use their own energy to contribute to the positive change of the global society.
My biggest growth during my four years in college was in my mindset, going from “I don’t fit” to “I want to try.” Whether it is a new area that I am not familiar with, a new friend from a different cultural background, or a challenge of unknown difficulty, the four years of life at DKU has made me more willing to step out of the original comfort zone, because the hard strength and soft skills developed here allow me to constantly create new comfort zones, rather than fear unknown challenges. This confidence is not shaped in thin air, nor formed in a day, but in the four years of countless attempts, setbacks, reflection, and gradually formed our base color, converged into our base.
07 Plans After Graduation?
I plan to pursue a master’s degree in Harvard University to deepen my theoretical and practical research in the field of public policy. In the long term, I would like to work in the field of strategic consulting, building on my knowledge to provide the most cost-effective and customized strategies for public institutions and private enterprises.
08 Suggestions To Fellow Students
First of all, don’t put limits on yourself. Coming to DKU means embracing diversity and exploring many possibilities. When you put limits on yourself, it’s easy to deprive yourself of your potential.
Second, learn to explore resources independently and effectively. DKU has access to a large number of different types of resources, but what resources can quickly and effectively help them achieve their goals needs to be independently distinguished and identified. A lack of willingness to explore and acquire resources will lead to missed opportunities. And if resources are sought and used indiscriminately, it can sometimes lead to a serious diversion of energy, which ultimately backfires.
Translated and Edited by Zhenyu Tian, Class of 2027
