Written by Giang Hoang
Coming from half way around the world, here at Harding, Chinese students, one of the two majorities of the international student body on campus, still have much to think about than just the unpredictable weather of Arkansas.
Mostly debt-free (and also grant-free), graduation comes with less stress (and less weddings) for them. But their plans for post-graduation still hang in, as these students’ graduations come closer.
Exchange programs with universities in China are what bring most of them here. They usually spend two to three years at Harding, and all of them share the same feeling of homesickness (and crave for Chinese food). However, what they want to do after leaving Harding vary.
Seeking for further, deeper education, they seem to take the option of going to grad schools seriously. “Right after graduation,” said Douglas Jiabo, an International Business senior. Vincent Pan, however, has a slightly different intention,” If I can find a good job shortly after my graduation, I would take the job and work here for few years. Otherwise, I will go to grad school.”
Another version of the grad-school option is going to grad school first and later on, finding a job here. Defrees He, an Accounting major who still has one more year at Harding, expresses his future plan in this order: graduation, grad school, and marriage.
However, while grad schools seem to be a common choice among them, for some, the feeling of homesickness may be a factor in their decisions of what to do after graduation. Cathy Li, a senior majoring in International Business, shares her future plan,” I will go back to China.” Liu Xuan, graduating soon this summer, has made up her mind about this. “I will go to grad school. It would take about a year and a half or two years, but after that, I will definitely go back to China.”
Some other students, however, leave the opportunity door open. Frankie Chan, a senior majoring in Marketing, simply says,” I’m not sure yet. Maybe I will go to grad school. Or if my girlfriend goes to grad school in another state, I will find a job close to her.” His girlfriend is also a Harding student who is going to graduate next year.
On the last note, when asked what they would miss the most when leaving Harding, no matter what their plans for the future are, what they all express and agree on is the valuable friends they have made at Harding. Even though the time they spend here may not be long, Harding’s impressions remain consistent with what have made it special for years: “environment, peace, and friendly people”, senior Defrees summaries.
