SUNY Days for Students from Quake-hit Regions

Gratitude for luck

These 150 students successfully completed their studies in New York and returned to Sichuan on May 25, 2009. They brought with them the goodwill they had been shown.

"Actually, I am the beneficiary of this earthquake and I cannot deny that," Tang said, "but we can bring this benefit back and pass it to others."

Tang vowed to help others, and she has decided to fund a university student in the future. "I will feel happier giving something to someone else than making personal achievements."

"Thanks" is the word Liu used most frequently. "I really cherish such an opportunity and am grateful for what I received." He feels he was lucky, and also believes such luck needs to be passed along.

Anthony DeBlasi, a professor of East Asian studies at SUNY's University of Albany, was impressed by the students' attitude under difficult circumstances. "All appreciated the opportunity that they could come and study here," he said. "They worked very hard."

Reviewing this nine-month experience, Huang said that he picked up academic knowledge, but his bigger "harvest" was learning how to help others and be independent.

A new view of life

After returning, the five students started to re-examine their perspectives on life.

Mu determined that pursuing what you want is a precondition for a happy life. He realized he did not like his college major, international trade, although it is a highly regarded course of study. So in his spare time, he began to focus on a field that interests him, news and documentary. He has received offers from several overseas universities to study journalism as a postgraduate.

Wang is not sure what she wants to do in the future, but said she has reflected on her life that, until now, was designed primarily by her parents. She said she liked studying in the United States and enjoys the culture. She has applied to two US universities to study marketing although she is hesitating again, because her mother remains alone.

Huang Lei, who is a senior student, prefers to apply theory to practice, so he decided to skip the national graduate school entrance examination. He already has been offered a job by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's largest e-commerce company.

Liu is now a graduate student at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and strongly believes he is on the right track toward a career as an Internet engineer.

Tang has turned her attention to disadvantaged people. She is a graduate student in finance in the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, one of China's top schools. However, she said, "I am more magnanimous and I can fulfill my value in fields other than my major."

Tang intends to step into the cause of education if she has the chance. "I look forward to making some contributions to the education of Sichuan province."

Tang also has determined to return to Sichuan after graduation, rather than go to Beijing or Shanghai, which are considered the best places for finance graduates from prestigious schools.

Giving back

As the students pursue their dreams, some of them new, they also are under pressure. They know that they spent nine months studying in the US, at no cost, because of an earthquake that killed at least 69,227 people.

As Liu put it, "This opportunity is at the cost of so many people's lives."

Consequently, it is widely expected that they should devote themselves to reconstruction or to helping the local people in the post-quake development. The students, however, have their own understanding of giving back and believe it should not have the limit of time and place.

"We can do nothing right now and it is impractical for us to make promises to others and tell them what and when we will come back to do what kind of contribution," Tang said. "But we have been thinking about that all the time."

Mu, who is going abroad again to study, regards his departure as a route to a better return. Even if he becomes a reporter one day, he said, he will cover the stories of his hometown.

Huang said you can help others only if you have built yourself up.

They are not completely putting off of giving back, however. When the 150 students finished their US studies, they received donations from local Chinese, and they pooled the gifts and started a charitable fund.

They donated US$3,000 to Japan after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake there on March 11. The fund also gave US$2,450 to Humeng Central Primary School in Yingjiang county, Yunnan province, site of a 5.8-magnitude earthquake on March 10.