Ten Months in China

ALB Candidate Is NSEP Fellow

The golden pagoda in Zhejiang, on the Yangtze River.

Margaret Demille, Bachelor of Liberal Arts (ALB) '03, has a passionate interest in Chinese culture, particularly Chinese language and economic theory. To advance her learning in both these areas she knew she needed to stop reading about China and go there. "I wanted to learn Chinese in an atmosphere where I'd be using it all day, every day," she explained, "and I wanted to observe for myself the economic reality versus the hype I'd read in business publications about 'the burgeoning market of the East.'"

Demille put her research skills to the test and initiated a study abroad investigation. "Everyone in the Undergraduate Office encouraged and supported my search for a program and funding. I searched both the Career and Academic Resource Center (CARC) and the Internet," she said. After a few weeks, she found a program that perfectly matched her academic interests: the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC), which offers intensive language study and courses in economic theory.

Now living and studying in China was not just a fantasy, it was an achievable goal. But could she make it happen? As a nontraditional adult student with strong ties to Boston, she felt uneasy about dropping everything and going to China for six to ten months. Unlike most traditional students, she would need to make substantial financial, professional, and personal sacrifices to study abroad, including quitting her full-time job, putting her adult life in the US on hold, and emptying her savings account.

While she knew the sacrifices would be worth it, she wondered if she could make the transition from full-time employee, part-time adult student in the US to unemployed, full-time adult student in China. And what about the expense? She went back to the Internet, searched for funding sources, and discovered the ideal opportunity: the National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Undergraduate Fellowship.

NSEP is a trust from the US Treasury that provides funding (ordinarily $2,500 for the summer, $4,000 for a semester, and $6,000 for a year) to American undergraduates with limited financial resources to study abroad in countries and areas of the world critical to the future security of the US. NSEP Fellows are required to work for an agency of the federal government with national security responsibilities or to work in the field of higher education in the area of study for which the scholarship was awarded. While the funding was most important, Demille was intrigued with the service requirement, because she was already considering a career with a government organization.

She immediately began the application process, but found that she couldn't just apply to the program, she needed to be nominated to NSEP through her university. With the help of Suzanne Spreadbury, Director of the Undergraduate Degree Program, who agreed to become the NSEP campus representative, Demille completed her application, which included two essays, letters of recommendation from two Extension School instructors, transcripts, financial aid documents, and an expense report of the study abroad program. The Extension School formed an ad hoc NSEP scholarship committee and, after meeting with Demille, gave her an outstanding recommendation. Shortly thereafter Demille was awarded $6,000 for her study abroad program.

Demille spent ten months in Chengdu, China--from summer 2001 through spring 2002--studying language and economic theory. She traveled to Shanghai, Beijing, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Kunming, and the Xishuangbanna prefecture, and learned an enormous amount about both urban and rural Chinese culture. What most surprised her was the breadth and depth of the physical changes in the cities, the beauty of the rural areas, as well as the immense poverty, and that everyone she spoke to expressed a feeling of improvement in their lives over the past ten years. She came away from the program with a greater sense of confidence in herself, the ability to communicate quickly and effectively in Chinese, and the desire to return to Asia in her professional life.

In June, Demille will earn her Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree with a field of study in economics. After graduation, she plans to complete her NSEP service requirement, through either the State Department or the US Treasury, before moving on to pursue her interest in microfinance, an area of economic development, by working for a development bank or a nongovernmental organization. She is currently enjoying her NSEP Fellowship perks, which include regular e-mail bulletins about networking opportunities as well as job openings in the federal government. One of the advantages of being a Fellow is access to a fellows- and scholars-only website that details these priority job postings.

The Extension School is proud to have supported Demille, and, thanks to her, many more ALB candidates can benefit from this generous scholarship opportunity.