Purdue Today

Health and Human Sciences students expand their world through China internships

Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the July/August issue of Purdue Alumnus magazine. The magazine may be viewed at https://www.purduealumni.org/ alumnus/2011_july_aug.

  
In the Tao Teh Ching, the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

When the journey takes you halfway around the globe to live for five to six months in a completely different culture where people don't speak your language, the first step is simply having an open mind.

That's exactly what Liping Cai (PhD HTM'96) asks students to do every semester. Cai, who is a professor of hospitality and tourism management at Purdue, is also director of Purdue's China Center in the Office of International Programs and associate dean for diversity and international programs in the College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS). He and Ray Kavanaugh, the late head of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (formerly department), collaborated with Tang Wenjian, Cai's friend and former classmate in China, to create the original Sponsored China Internship Program for Purdue students and the China Scholars Program for Chinese hotel managers.

Beginning as a partnership with Jinling Hotel in Nanjing, the program has expanded to include three more hotels in China that are owned and/or operated by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, a multinational company with properties all over the world.

Intern recruiting has expanded from HTM to include other HHS departments such as Consumer Sciences and Retailing, as well as Krannert School of Management.

When recruiting students to the program, Cai has encountered many student apprehensions: concerns over significant others' objections, worries of losing friendships, fears of getting behind academically, and concerns over the simple unknowns of a different culture like China's, steeped in suspicion by the American media.

Yet all of the reasons why some might say no are the very reasons a few say yes. Nearly 80 students have participated over the years.

"There's a sense of urgency with the students who go -- a desire to explore and find out what the world is really like," Cai says. "They want to get out of the United States and understand others with their own eyes."

Getting outside his comfort zone is Sam Brodsky's motto. Brodsky (HTM'11) came to Purdue from Denver because he didn't want to go to college with all of the same people from his high school. When he learned about the internship from a friend, he plunged right in. "It was a no-brainer," he says. "The cost was less than a semester at Purdue, and I knew I wanted to work outside the U.S. when I graduated. I had my interview with Dr. Cai and two weeks later, I found out I was going."

But Sonya Gerber (HTM'06) needed some convincing.

"When I was a kid, my family lived in Hong Kong for a year and a half," she says. "I was torn from my Brownie troop; I only had one or two friends; I hated the crowds. I was miserable. I never wanted to go back to Asia."

Fortunately, Gerber has an admitted history of ending up doing things she's initially dead-set against -- including attending Purdue. A Lafayette native, Gerber hadn't wanted to attend college in her own hometown (ironically, because she wanted to get away and explore different places). But Gerber's family is full of Boilermakers who know the value of a Purdue degree, and Gerber's mom, a Purdue alum herself, convinced her to go.

Cai did his own similar persuading with the internship. "He was one of my favorite professors and I respected his opinion," Gerber says. "And I had never been in China, only Hong Kong. So I thought, 'Why not? I can survive five months.'"

Five-star service, Chinese-style

Brodsky's internship was at the Shangri-La Dalian in 2010. Gerber interned at the Jinling Hotel in Nanjing in 2005.

When the interns arrive, they often are taken aback at the VIP welcome reception they receive from hotel staff, says Lilly He, director of human resources for the Shangri-La Dalian. "They are not used to being treated this way; it can be overwhelming."

At the Jinling and the Shangri-La, the interns live either in standard guest rooms or in well-appointed apartments owned by the hotels. "We were not living as regular Chinese," Brodsky says. "We were spoiled -- three TVs, a washer/dryer unit, full kitchen, wireless Internet."

Once they settle in, the work begins. As per the partnership agreement with Purdue, the hotels rotate interns through the various divisions -- rooms, hospitality, front desk, food and beverage, and housekeeping, with a longer period in the student's area of concentration.

"It's a win-win program," says Naijiang Peter Qu, director of rooms at the Shangri-La Dalian. "Ten percent of our guests are American. They like to see other Americans here. And the students learn how to solve problems in the real world."

"These are first-class properties," says Richard Ghiselli (MS HTM'90, PhD HTM'93), head of HTM. "It's an excellent opportunity to learn how to give five-star service. And the international component is a vital part of the HTM industry."

In fact, Ghiselli says, Purdue's China program is unique; no other hospitality and tourism program offers anything like it.

Throughout the interns' time in China, their hosts treat them with customary Chinese thoughtfulness, involving them in social and cultural events, inviting them to dinner and making them feel at home.

"When one intern was in the hospital, we sent her flowers and cards every day to let her know that we were thinking of her," says He. "We had a staff member with her 24 hours a day. We did not want her to feel alone or that no one cared for her. She did not have her family with her, but we treated her like a member of our family."

Academic advantages

Students need not fear getting behind academically. The internship includes 12 credit hours of language, culture, and a special class project for the hotel designed by the student, his and her hotel supervisor, and HTM faculty.

Communicating is the biggest challenge, both Brodsky and Gerber say.

Brodsky's group was the first to intern at Dalian. "During the first week or so, we kept saying things were 'awesome' in English," he says. "The staff's electronic translators were interpreting the word 'awesome' as 'big and scary.' So they thought we thought everything was big and scary. We had no idea."

Gerber found her own solution for communication difficulties. After several frustrating attempts to talk with the Chinese chefs, she turned to an English-speaking staff member for help.

"I had him teach me how to say, 'Don't shoot! I'm an American!' in Chinese. When I said it to the chefs, it totally cracked them up."

Class projects involve meshing the American and the Chinese cultures. For example, Cai says, a student with a food and beverage interest might organize and market a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner at a hotel restaurant. Because Chinese and American cooking and serving methods differ greatly, this is more challenging than it sounds -- and so is marketing the event to people from such a different culture.

"The projects are a great learning experience for the students and the staff," Cai says. "And we are gratified when the hotels do adopt some of the ideas."

The defining 'yes'

To make the most of the experience, Gerber made a commitment to herself to never say no to an invitation if she wasn't already doing something. She didn't know what she was in for.

"The Chinese people are so welcoming and sincere," Gerber says. "They've only known you for a day, and they'll invite you to dinner at their homes. I said yes. Karaoke? OK. Barbecue at 2 a.m.? Sure. I did the same with food. Eat this chicken head? Um ... OK. I told them I would try everything once, but I might not like it. They didn't mind. The Chinese pride in their culture is amazing. They love it when you are interested."

When invited to go to Yellow Mountain, she balked at spending three days alone with people she'd only known a couple of weeks, most of whom didn't speak English well. Luckily, she made herself stick to her 'yes' promise.

"I'd only seen the city and this was one of the most famous mountains in China. The scenery was beautiful. We climbed the stairs up the mountain in the rain together for four hours. They were carrying my bag, buying me water every hour -- it was hilarious. We stayed overnight at a hotel on the mountain and had a barbecue that night. I tried to teach them what s'mores were. I was speaking Chinese as much as possible. Sitting there with them, I suddenly realized how relaxed I was. I thought, 'I could be on my own here and be OK.' I'd been clinging to the other interns a bit. But after that, though I still loved being with the other interns, I didn't need them."

Living in an expanded world

So ... were the five or six months away worth it?

According to Brodsky and Gerber, the answer is a definite "yes."

"Everybody should experience the world, somewhere else, for an extended period of time and get out of their comfort zone," Brodsky says. "Go to any 'non-touristy' place. Get into the culture. Challenge yourself to see what's really out there. It makes you realize the vastness of Earth, the infinite number of different things you don't know anything about."

As a 2011 graduate, he's currently in the midst of his job search -- and he still wants to work in a different country. "I'm open to just about anything," he says. "I'd like to go somewhere I haven't been -- but I'd also be just as happy in China."

Gerber's "yes" is evident in that she went to work in China after graduation.  Starting at the Wuhan Shangri-La Hotel, she has worked at several Shangri-Las in Asia -- including Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong is amazing; I would go back in a heartbeat," she says, laughing. She's currently in Tainan, Taiwan, where she is the assistant front office manager in charge of five different departments at the Tainan Shangri-La. "It's a big career step, the chance to put it all together -- the management skills I learned in HTM, combined with the cultural things I learned in China."

The humor of her situation has not escaped Gerber or her mother. "She can't believe I'm actually working in Asia," Gerber says. "She still marvels at my complete change of opinion."

"I think back to my life and wonder what would have happened if I had never come to China," she says. "I have an amazing life here -- not just surviving, but thriving. I was a fairly confident person, but I never thought I'd be capable of anything like this. If I had never tried, I would have lost out on so much. Students worry about what they'll miss out on in five months at Purdue, but those things will still be there. This is the most memorable thing they might ever do."

China Scholars: A learning exchange

Part of the China partnership involves not only the internships, but continuing education for Chinese employees of the partner properties.

"Our students get to go over there and learn; it seems only natural that we should return that favor," says Liping Cai (PhD HTM'96), professor of hospitality and tourism management, director of Purdue's China Center, and associate dean for Diversity and International Programs in the College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS).

In the China Scholars Program, the hotels send management staff to Purdue for three to 12 months. The visiting scholars sit in on graduate-level courses and also give course-related presentations to classes on real-world issues and solutions in their related industries.

"We involve them deeply with our faculty and students," says Richard Ghiselli (MS HTM'90, PhD HTM'93), department head for Hospitality and Tourism Management. "It's a good opportunity for the faculty to work with an industry executive on a real-world issue."

Catherine Hua and Walt Wang, executives from Jinling Hotel in Nanjing, spent one year with HTM faculty and students in 2010. Naijiang Peter Qu and Lilly He, the executives from the Shangri-La Hotel in Dalian, China, participated in the program during spring semester of 2011.

"It's a wonderful program," says He, who is director of human resources for the Shangri-La Dalian in China. "We speak in the classes and help HTM to develop their students, and they help us develop our management skills at one of the best universities in America."

According to Cai, the exchange not only strengthens the partnership, but it also expands Purdue's network, and its horizons. "The scholars are only here for three months," he says, "but when they leave, they see themselves as Boilermakers."