NF
Nicholas Foss
  • Accounting
  • Class of 2014
  • Burlington, VT

Nick Foss of Saint Albans Travels to Beijing

2012 Dec 13

Nick Foss of Saint Albans, VT recently visited Beijing, China as part of a cultural immersion class at Champlain College.

Foss, majoring in Accounting with a specialization in Finance was one of 16 students on the trip that was led by Champlain Core Adjunct Professor Rob Williams and Assistant Professor Kristin Wolf. The course gave juniors and seniors who had been studying the culture of "New China" a first-hand look at the historic Great Wall of China and The Forbidden City along with a modern-day, post 2008 Olympics city.

The group's itinerary while in Beijing included three days on various sections of the Great Wall of China, with the remainder of the time spent in downtown Beijing. Students experienced all that the city had to offer – history, food and drink, education, shopping, and various other distinctive cultural aspects of China. In preparation for their trip, students primarily studied the Cultural Revolution under communist leader Chairman Mao from in 1949 until his death in 1976. They continued through the decades up to modern day "New China," which emerged in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Today, one can still see traces of Mao's influence and changes made for the 2008 Olympics everywhere.

Students faced a culture shock, but were surprised by how much Western influence there was in China. There could not have been a better, nor safer time for the group to travel to Beijing. Security was high around the city in response to the 18th Party Congress and the naming of the new leader of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping, the weekend prior to their arrival.

On their sixth day in Beijing, students traveled to Tsinghua University to sit in on an English class taught by native Vermonter, Jimmy Ronner. After a presentation made by the Chinese students, everyone was put into groups to discuss the perceptions of American and Chinese cultures. "While at the University we got a sense of Chinese culture as a whole, and saw the power that the single-party government had over everything," said Jim Courtney '13.

For each student's final, Williams had him or her compose a list of the 10 most valuable take-aways from the trip experience and integrate embedded media to represent the revelations. They also included components of the four books they read about Chinese culture throughout the semester. The goal of the trip was to expose students to Chinese culture and hopefully make them feel comfortable enough to return in the future, whether for business or pleasure.

To view a final blog post, visit http://champchinamojo2012.blogspot.com/2012/12/kayla-hedman-final.html

For more information about Champlain College's relationship with China, learn about the Stiller School of Business' Shanghai Internship Program, made possible by a grant from the Freeman Foundation, at http://www.champlain.edu/news-and-events/news/china-internships.html

About Champlain College:

Since 1878, Champlain College has provided career-focused education to students from its hilltop campus in Burlington, Vt. Champlain's distinctive educational approach embodies the notion that true learning only occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain offers traditional undergraduate and online undergraduate courses, along with online certificate and degree programs and eight master's degree programs. Champlain offers study abroad programs at its campuses in Montreal, Quebec and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain College will be included in the Princeton Review's "best colleges" guidebook, "The Best 377 Colleges: 2013 Edition." Champlain was named a "Top-Up-and-Coming School" by U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" and was ranked in the top tier of 2013 Regional Colleges in the North. For more information, visit www.champlain.edu.