From China to graduating from BGSU - inspiring story about Going Beyond Business As Usual

How does a young woman from China who had little experience speaking English and had limited financial resources, travel more than 6,400 miles to earn her undergraduate business degree at BGSU? This is the story of Wen Wang from Inner Mongolia, China, who graduated from the University in May, overcoming extensive challenges of language and cultural barriers as well as studying disciplines that are not commonly thought of as typical fields for women. Wang specialized in management information systems and business analytics & intelligence. The May 2018 graduate took advantage of many opportunities to get engaged with the College of Business and BGSU.

Wang’s initial college education began at Tianjin Normal University where she studied computer science for two years. There were several reasons that helped her decide to trek halfway around the world to Bowling Green, Ohio.

“The first one,” states Wang, “is that I found out the business college of BGSU has many great programs and its rank has been improving among public universities every year. I was sure that BGSU’s College of Business would provide a lot of resources and opportunities to its future students.”

Wang continues, “The second reason is the tuition is affordable and reasonable. I believe that most international students are facing the same problem like me, which is the cost of studying abroad. My family would be my only source of income. I had to find a school with affordable tuition but with good reputation.”

The international student credits the BGSU culture, especially in the College of Business, for convincing her that this would be the best place to earn her undergraduate business degree.

“I knew that there were so many organizations on campus; for example, the Dean’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion, aims to help international students become more successful. It is a diverse and inclusive environment for international students to study. I feel safe and comfortable to study here as an international student.”

Wang’s challenges of coming to Bowling Green were tough, but not impossible to overcome. “I had no experience to talk to native English speakers when I was in China. It turned extremely hard for me to communicate with people when I first came to America. However, once I started making friends, things became much easier than I thought. I did have a very hard time at first, which made me so shy and nervous to talk, but everyone has to go through it. Moreover, the hard time that I have been through built up my character and made me become a brave and unyielding person.”

Besides the language barrier, there is certainly cultural differences between America and China which Wang labels as “culture shake.” “Culture shake varies from diet differences to ways of making friends. However, I am enjoying living in a culture that has so many different cultures as my country. I appreciate the opportunity to experience all of these differences and find the balance between these differences.”

Wang did not let cultural differences get in the way of taking advantage of opportunities while at BGSU. She was president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, was treasurer of the World Student Organization, and was an International Student Ambassador, a select group of “knowledgeable, motivated, and enthusiastic international student leaders that assist International Programs & Partnerships” with recruiting efforts and advocating student engagement on and off campus. 

The business senior also took advantage of interning for the University as a data analyst for Campus Operations and Campus Services where she used her analysis and information gathering expertise. Wang also tutored other students in math and statistics and was a supplemental instruction leader of statistics.

Wang credits the College of Business and its faculty for helping her career preparation. “The Business Career Accelerator helped me a lot. They host employer spotlights every week for students to meet with employers in local companies. They also help students to build resumes and prepare for interviews. The Business Career Accelerator is the best place to prepare business students’ careers.”

The 2018 graduate thinks of Bowling Green as her second home and the faculty as family. “My professors, Dr. Earl McKinney and Ms. Bethany Niese, provided me their network, resources, and valuable time to help me with job searching. They are not only caring about my study but also my personal development and career. They are like my family here.”

Wang says she has “a ton of memorable experiences” at BGSU. “If I have to pick one, I will say that hosting the Chinese New Year Celebration as the president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association is the most memorable experience for me. We had not hosted the event for almost six years. The event attracted almost four hundred people and was reported on by different local news. It was a big accomplishment for me, and I will never forget the great feeling to see my hard work rewarded.”

Describing her BGSU experience is easy for Wang – “Amazing!” After graduation, Wang plans on working in America for a few years and hopes to return to her alma mater for her master’s degree one day.