Highlights from Third Annual Tea and Cake Party

The Third Annual Tea and Cake Party (see slideshow) was held at Billy and Lucille's Portola Valley Home on June 4. It was mainly for USCPFA S.Bay Members to build Friendship with a few Chinese students who are now studying at Stanford University. Holden and Sherry Yang from Beijing
brought along their three-year-old daughter .Holden holds a Graduate degree in Economics from BeiDa. Sherry who graduated from TsingHua University, now has a degree from Stanford Business School. Zhang Yanshuo, also from Beijing, is presently pursuing her PhD in Fine Arts at Stanford.
Billy also invited his English-conversation partner from DeAnza college, Ms Sholeh Niroumand and her Iranian husband Saeed and their college-age daughter Negin to join us. From his FF Fraternity was Mr.Calvin Chin who just moved back from Shanghai and wife Angie and children: Spencer and Sloane. Another two new guest were Ms Witty Wang and her teen-age daughter, Renie. Witty built her career as a TV ancho, reporter, director, producer, and editor for Shanghai Media Groupfor many years. She also was a Knoght Fellow at Stanford in 2007-2008. Daughter Renie is now a student at Palo Alto High.
The main entertainment that afternoon was provided by two New York University- Shanghai
Fellows, who studied in China. They were very generous to share their personal stories with us.
Below are their stories.
CHARLIE DEPMAN
My experience in China has largely centered around environmental work. I grew interested in China in high school where I had the opportunity to study Chinese. After high school I deferred college and went to be an in-house English teacher at an American multinational in Guangzhou. After seeing extensive environmental degradation in two of my students’ home villages during the Spring Festival, I quit teaching and took a job at Future Generations, an environmental NGO in Beijing. In collaboration with Beijing Forestry University, we conducted a series of environmental awareness campaigns throughout China called the Green Long March.
At McGill University and the University of British Columbia in Canada, I studied Chinese and wrote my thesis on the evolution of the Chinese written language in the internet age. I spent a summer studying and working in Taipei, learning to read/write traditional Chinese characters.
After college, I took a scholarship to study in Chongqing for 2 months before looking for work in Beijing. Tired of breathing toxic air, I returned to the US and found work at Waterkeeper Alliance, an environmental non-profit in New York. As their Asia Regional Coordinator, I helped half a dozen NGOs in China fight polluters and get access to information and funding. On a work trip, I had the chance to visit our partners in Beijing, Dalian, Hangzhou, Hefei, Xiangyang and Lanzhou.
A year after I started at Waterkeeper, New York University Shanghai accepted me as part of a year-long writing fellowship program. I moved to Shanghai to help start NYU Shanghai, teaching its first class of students expository writing, leading student activity groups, proofreading Chinese translations for the Chinese department, and advising the Startup Shanghai student entrepreneurship club. Inspired by my students and the vibrant tech/startup scene in Shanghai, I began to teach myself to code.
I moved to San Francisco and studied more computer science before getting a job as a software engineer at Scoot, a company that runs a fleet of shared, smart-networked smart-phone-activated electric mopeds. I was drawn to Scoot from my experiences living in China's dense, scooter-filled urban centers - small electric vehicles are the future!
KYLE ROTHSTEIN
Growing up in San Francisco, I attended the Chinese American International School until I moved to Shanghai, China when I was twelve. While in Shanghai, I attended both international and local schools until I started college at NYU. After graduation, I relocated back to Shanghai to be part of NYU Shanghai's student life department during the inaugural year. Half the student body was Chinese and the other half represented over 65 countries, with a strong American presence. I quickly discovered the challenges of cross-cultural communication for students that had previously not been exposed to internationalism.
In China, it is clear that students have a well-prepped curriculum in middle school and high school that prepares them to thrive in college. However, American students had more confidence and demonstrated more social skills that I believe was partially gained through leadership opportunities in High School. Many American high schools take extracurricular activities seriously (sports, drama, Model United Nations, music etc.). Captains and upperclassman are given unique responsibility that is virtually non-existent in Chinese schools considering the heaving preparation for GaoKao. Finding ways to create an atmosphere of equal opportunity in leadership was an adjustment at first but become more natural as the school year progressed at NYU Shanghai.
It became clear very quickly that most students clicked with peers from a similar culture. One of the few organic ways to facilitate cross-cultural friendships was through common interests. For instance, on my basketball team, the players not only practiced and competed together but also watched/discussed the NBA during downtime. Our acapella music club had a unique blend of Chinese/US fusion in rhythm.
In conclusion, I notice Chinese schools in Shanghai understand the importance of outside-the-classroom student development in regards to future desired careers. As John Huntsman said at the 1990 Institute Gala 25 anniversary, 20 years ago Chinese middle school students mostly idealized Mao Zi Dong, Deng Xiao Ping and Bill Clinton - now it is Jack Ma, Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. With the technology being seen as a lucrative opportunity for many, I see great potential in China's upcoming generation if they can find a healthy balance in continuing strong academics standards while facilitating students with more leadership and creative opportunities.
All in all, it was an enjoyable gathering for all. A HOME SETTING is always a more FRIENDLY
SETTING. We hope to continue this annual Tea & Cake Party for as long as possible.

Cheers,
Billy & Lucille Lee