Student's vision becomes a 'Global Student Initiative'

By Greg Swenson

When Leslie Dong was 13 years old she traveled to China with her mother and siblings where they spent three years immersed in Chinese culture and learned to speak both Mandarin and Cantonese.

After that time spent in China, Dong knew she wanted to do something involving the country.

"Going to China, a country that was so different than the U.S., really changed how I viewed what I could be," said Dong, a University of Colorado Boulder senior from Louisville, Colo.

An international affairs and Asian studies major, Dong recently launched the Global Student Initiative (GSI) in an effort to expand cross-cultural collaboration and leadership skills to students of all backgrounds at CU-Boulder and in China. The student-led organization helps foster communication and interaction between students from different places of the world, particularly China.

I think the best part of the program is we can put Chinese and American students together who come from completely different backgrounds."Dong surprised even herself by managing to set up GSI’s pilot program at CU-Boulder in just two months. Working as an instructor and advisor to both teams, she has been able to take advantage of support from CU-Boulder departments and programs that have helped her take a vision and turn it into a campus program. In particular, the Center for Asian Studies, the Newton Chair in Leadership, Study Abroad and International Affairs were instrumental in helping her establish the initiative when she returned from studying abroad.

"I came back with a huge idea that I wanted to implement," Dong said. "Everything was already set up in China, it was funded and students were recruited. But I had nothing at CU. All of these departments did everything they could to help me find the right direction and place for this program."

GSI’s exchange program is composed of two teams -- one from China and one from CU-Boulder -- which work together to create a 14-day exchange program. Each team gets to host the other students in their country for seven days and have the opportunity to participate in academic lectures, business visits and sightseeing.

The theme for this year’s teams is 21st Century Challenges and Globalization where students will learn about economic, environmental and health care issues. This summer, Chinese students will come to Boulder where they plan to do local business visits while CU-Boulder students will visit migrant schools in Beijing, China. The program is open to all undergraduate students, regardless of their major or prior experience and currently.

Eleven CU-Boulder students are participating -- including students from physics, business and journalism -- and 11 students from China.

"I think the best part of the program is we can put Chinese and American students together who come from completely different backgrounds," Dong said. "They're from different places and speak different languages, but they all have a common goal, which is working together on this project."

Students on both teams are in charge of planning, networking, finding sponsors and budgeting the trip. Throughout the year the students communicate via Skype and an app called WeChat that allows them to stay connected. Dong has also set each student up with a "pen pal" so they can talk to each other before they meet in China during the summer.

"While learning about the Chinese culture, CU students also receive hands-on experience running a student exchange program," she said. "Part of my vision for the program is to help students gain practical skills and leadership experience, while also having a cross-cultural experience."

Getting everyone trained and up to speed on how to run an exchange program is challenging, Dong said, but in the end, she wants the students to be the ones driving it.

"Participating in the GSI project has given me expertise that I would never had obtained anywhere else," said Ileen Arianne den Ouden, a CU-Boulder senior majoring in international affairs. "Coming into the project we knew that this experience would require an understanding that the process itself, as a staff member, had a learning curve. The hard work, long hours and obstacles we have encountered throughout this process, has been worth it when looking at the great community that is being built among the GSI participants."

At the end of the year, the students will write a professional program proposal and present it to a board of CU-Boulder faculty members.

After graduation, Dong plans to stay in Boulder to develop the program into a successful business. Long term, she hopes to expand the exchange program to include universities throughout the United States and China, as well as potentially launching more programs centered around different majors that would be more discipline focused.

"The overall goal is to help bring cultures together," Dong said. "Hopefully students from both countries form bonds that can last beyond their time in the program and even after school."

Students can learn more at http://globalstudentinitiative.com or by emailing gsi.leadership@gmail.com.

Greg Swenson is an editor at CU’s Office of News Services.

March 26, 2015