Despite a lost passport and a stranded student, the E-Scholars make deals and get home safely
By Lisa McMahan
This spring's Entrepren-eurship Scholars trip to China was full of both rewarding experiences and surprises for nine E-Scholars and their two accompanying faculty members.
Amid a flurry of sightseeing, taxi rides and even a lost passport and stranded student, the E-Scholars group was able to learn more about their individual business plans and what it takes to make it in an increasingly international business world.
The group spent the months leading up to the trip, one of three offered through the E-Scholars program, arranging their own interviews in Beijing and Shanghai, while taking classes designed to help students map out their entrepreneurial goals.
"My experience is that it's enormously empowering when people have successful business meetings with people in such a different environment," said John Orr, who traveled as a faculty member with the group to China for his fifth time.
The program is available to students with all different majors.
Some of their different business plans include financial planning, engineering and even a line of designer jeans.
Junior music and theatre major Danielle Larson's E-Scholar business plan is the creation of a Portland Shakespeare Festival.
She arranged interviews in China through her own business contacts in the months prior to spring break.
"It really teaches you about networking and how to successfully meet with people who like your business plan," Larson said.
After misplacing her passport on the plane from Beijing to Shanghai halfway through the week and later discovering it was stolen, Larson's plans were somewhat modified and she spent the better part of two days in the U.S. Consulate and the Entry-Exit Administration Bureau of Shanghai.
"They rushed the process through because they listed it as an emergency," Larson said.
However, she was not able to attain a passport and exit visa until Monday - two days after the rest of the E-Scholars left to return to Portland.
An RA at Fudan University in Shanghai offered to let Larson stay with her until she was able to go home.
Orr and Lisa Reed, another faculty member on the trip, met the RA while visiting the Institute for International Education of Students (IES) study abroad locations.
Larson took advantage of her extended stay in China by rescheduling meetings she missed while trying to obtain a new passport and visa in Shanghai.
She met with these business contacts on Monday before returning home on the next available flight the following day.
"I was very impressed with the maturity with which she handled the situation," Orr said.
He also noted the maturity and seriousness that the rest of the group demonstrated in China.
Normally, the E-Scholars meet for breakfast at 8 a.m. before splitting up and navigating the city by themselves.
"They requested to have the breakfast meetings at 7 a.m. so they could go out and do stuff," Orr said.
Another E-Scholar, senior global business and marketing major Greg Machado, spent his time meeting with companies related to his goal of working in the customization and fabrication of robotics and prosthetics.
"I'm trying to do as much as I can throughout the program with all of the resources we have," Machado said. "This program has given me a network of people, mentors and resources to pursue what I want to do in the future."
Because UP is adding Mandarin Chinese to its curriculum this fall, Orr and Reed met with IES programs in both Beijing and Shanghai in order to provide students interested in studying abroad in China for information about the options available.
Orr, an English professor at UP, also gave a guest lecture on Emily Dickinson at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology in the School of Foreign Languages.
The trip was not all business, however.
On Monday, the E-Scholars took a sightseeing tour of Beijing that included a trip to the Great Wall of China and the Ming Tombs.
"That's the only thing that's a group activity," Orr said. "From there on out, pretty much everybody's on his own."
UP's E-Scholars Program is unique from other entrepreneurial programs because of the independence given to the students, who are responsible for their own travel plans, meetings and ultimately the success of their trips.
"Chinese people are always amazed that we're getting around in Chinese cities with no organized tours," Orr said.
Students were also impressed with their ability to navigate the enormous cities.
Larson said one of her most valuable experiences on the trip was walking through the Forbidden City in Beijing.
"It's hard to describe how many people there were," Larson said. "Walking through the Forbidden City was something they weren't able to do before Communism - it was the first moment I realized, 'wow, I'm really in China.'"
