Students at The Beijing Center leave their semesters abroad in China with a priceless souvenir: Confidence, in both their experience and themselves.
A spring 2017 survey completed by TBC alumni shows that participants are overwhelmingly happy with their academic adventure abroad!
A big area alumni say is working for them is: Work. Ninety-five percent of respondents say they’re currently employed. Their specialties are diverse: They’re working in the popular fields of finance, education, law, government, and marketing — but also aviation, non-profits, technology, and journalism.
Jamie Martines, who studied with TBC in Fall 2011 and Spring 2012, says her own career was enhanced by her time abroad.
“As a reporter, I find myself in new, unfamiliar places often,” Martines said. “I was lucky to have met classmates and instructors who challenged me to put down my textbooks, to get out of the library, and to learn by getting out into the world and asking a lot of questions. I wouldn’t be where I am today without that support and encouragement.”
The immersive language learning at TBC has helped alumni, too — 25 percent report sometimes using Mandarin in their jobs, and 7 percent say they frequently use Mandarin.
Greg Savarese is one alumnus whose Fall 2004 enrollment took his language mastery to a new level — and took him by surprise.
“Up until studying at TBC, I was a terrible language student. When I told my parents that I was going to study at TBC and had to take a Chinese class, they gently reminded me that Chinese is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn and that I wasn’t so good with Spanish,” Savarese said. “While studying at TBC, I was able to use the skills I learned in Chinese class immediately throughout my daily life in Beijing: Exactly what I needed to now be fluent.”
Savarese, today an established entrepreneur and inventor in China, is also one of the 12 percent of alumni surveyed who are making a life in Asia. TBC’s alumni are all over the world, but 80 percent of survey participants say they now live in the United States.
Wherever The Beijing Center alumni go, however, their common background of studying in China is a lesson written in indelible ink.
Elaine Disbro, who left The Beijing Center in 2009 as an alumna but returned to be an advisor, remains in touch with several of her classmates.
“I think the fact that so many of them are still involved with China, or used their TBC experience to move forward in their career, speaks volumes,” Disbro said. “China changes you, and whether or not you use that experience directly, the strength and con dence you gain from your time in China has a far-reaching impact.”
The Beijing Center was ranked the world’s No. 1 study abroad program by studyabroad101.com in 2015.
If you’re interested in coming to China, we can put you in touch with alumni to share more information. Email us at alumni@thebeijingcenter.org.
• Based online, spring 2017
• 257 respondents finished it over a two-week period
• Class from 1999-2016 represented in respondents
of TBC program participants are currently employed
rate TBC’s program 4-5 stars
live in U.S.; 12% are in Asia
use Mandarin in their jobs
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.