Perspectives - A Cultural Commentary
We have a plan.
Last night I wrote the first few pages of what Cici and I have talked about as a marketing plan for her college applications. Something to set her apart from the pack. Pretty much everyone will have done volunteer work at the public library, or will have done other types of community service that are promoted by the high schools. Some will have participated in sports, others in music or other school activities. The relevant group -- the primary competition -- will have outstanding grades.
But how many college applicants will have established and promoted a cross-cultural program to build good will for America in China, while at the same time educating Chinese families about one of America's least known and most favored types of immigration? A gateway to America for bright young students in China, whose fears about living in a foreign country can be allayed by a Chinese teenager just like them who has come and conquered those fears.
Cici is calling her program Life in America -- Perspectives of a Chinese Teenager. I will do this program, Papa, she told me last night, her enthusiasm very apparent. She plans to enlist some of her former classmates to help spread the word about her program. She will meet with them and friends of theirs, and she will also be sponsored by our law firm and will speak at the meetings with families in China who are interested in coming to America through the investor visa program.
Develop your marketing materials and spread the word through your blog and through emails and QQ, I suggested. Make sure that many pictures are taken at the meetings in China. Make some banners to hang at the meetings so it is clear in the photos why everyone is there. Become a true ambassador of good will for your new country. Talk about the cultural differences, and talk about why you decided to become a Citizen of the United States.
Then build an entire portfolio that tells your story, and use that as a way to differentiate yourself from other college applicants. Write a story about your efforts. Obtain testimonials from those you have helped. This will highlight your vision, your leadership, and your marketing skills in a very positive way. You may well be the only applicant who has focused on cross-cultural bridge building with a country that is an ocean away from America, and this is a pathway to scholarships and acceptance at a college of your dreams.
I know that a year ago Cici would have shunned the spotlight, but she has been growing and changing in ways that she doesn't even notice. Yesterday we ate lunch at a Thai restaurant. I asked for chopsticks and Ping and I used them. Cici used her fork instead.
Last night I wrote the first few pages of what Cici and I have talked about as a marketing plan for her college applications. Something to set her apart from the pack. Pretty much everyone will have done volunteer work at the public library, or will have done other types of community service that are promoted by the high schools. Some will have participated in sports, others in music or other school activities. The relevant group -- the primary competition -- will have outstanding grades.
But how many college applicants will have established and promoted a cross-cultural program to build good will for America in China, while at the same time educating Chinese families about one of America's least known and most favored types of immigration? A gateway to America for bright young students in China, whose fears about living in a foreign country can be allayed by a Chinese teenager just like them who has come and conquered those fears.
Cici is calling her program Life in America -- Perspectives of a Chinese Teenager. I will do this program, Papa, she told me last night, her enthusiasm very apparent. She plans to enlist some of her former classmates to help spread the word about her program. She will meet with them and friends of theirs, and she will also be sponsored by our law firm and will speak at the meetings with families in China who are interested in coming to America through the investor visa program.
Develop your marketing materials and spread the word through your blog and through emails and QQ, I suggested. Make sure that many pictures are taken at the meetings in China. Make some banners to hang at the meetings so it is clear in the photos why everyone is there. Become a true ambassador of good will for your new country. Talk about the cultural differences, and talk about why you decided to become a Citizen of the United States.
Then build an entire portfolio that tells your story, and use that as a way to differentiate yourself from other college applicants. Write a story about your efforts. Obtain testimonials from those you have helped. This will highlight your vision, your leadership, and your marketing skills in a very positive way. You may well be the only applicant who has focused on cross-cultural bridge building with a country that is an ocean away from America, and this is a pathway to scholarships and acceptance at a college of your dreams.
I know that a year ago Cici would have shunned the spotlight, but she has been growing and changing in ways that she doesn't even notice. Yesterday we ate lunch at a Thai restaurant. I asked for chopsticks and Ping and I used them. Cici used her fork instead.
Angela is going to be a dynamo when she gets going!
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I agree, Smitty. Cici is getting some good training. Yesterday Ping met for a couple of hours with a Chinese lady whose age is about midway between Ping and Cici. She came to America at age 14, studied hard and got a degree and an advanced degree from a good college, and now is one of only two Chinese women in one of the top insurance firms in the country here in Houston.
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