8/19/14
Study Abroad Reflection The Honors Student Who Vowed to Never Attend WVU Goes Global Christopher Hickey
Christopher Hickey 2 The Honors Student Who Vowed To Never Attend WVU Goes Global Studying abroad was always a non-‐negotiable when touring colleges during the
spring of my junior year of high school in 2011. At the time, my heart was set on a city school, mainly New York University. With preeminent study abroad programs and an excellent business school, I was ready to go. I had all the university apparel and merchandise one could imagine; I am even wearing an NYU sweatshirt in my driver license photo. Suffice to say I was a tad obsessed. However, as my mother and I left New York City after touring, we started to discuss the difference between visiting a big city and living in America’s most ferocious concrete jungle; at which point I began to ponder, “Why New York University?” After much thought, I realized my desire to attend NYU was mostly for the appeal of living in New York City. At the time I could not comprehend the finality of living in a metropolitan area nor how I would manage after delusions of wanderlust subsided. Needless to say, NYU was off the list, and I thought I found the perfect combination of city and suburbia in Washington DC. With the fullest intentions of applying to a University in Washington DC, I went to the annual WVU Delaware Alumni chapter picnic later that July. This is always a family affair in the summertime ever since my father became chapter president in 1999. During his ten-‐year tenure as chapter president, he was recognized in 2004 by the university for his alumni efforts and served on the Board of Directors of the WVU Alumni Association from 2006 to 2011. My family and I were basically taught to bleed blue and gold from an early age, which was not always the easiest since that was not the most success era of Mountaineer sports.
Christopher Hickey 3 At the annual alumni picnic, I was making the usual rounds selling raffle tickets
shamelessly up selling autographed merchandise and university paraphernalia for charity. When I approached long time family friend and fellow church member, Beverly Wik, she inquired about my college search. As a WVU alumna she pitched the West Virginia University’s Honors College, which her son attended in its early days, and their family’s great experience. After her compelling argument I toured the campus with my mother later that summer, purposefully not on a football weekend for I had already seen that campus. I felt it was the perfect balance of urban and suburban living with limitless avenues to explore leading to numerous opportunities. Thanks to Mrs. Wik I managed to swallow my pride by disregarding my father’s affiliation with the university and proudly made what I consider my best independent decision as a young adult. This decision completely altered the trajectory of my seemingly planned out future. I was “The honors student who vowed to never attend WVU”, in the University’s words, yet here we are. Choosing to attend West Virginia University second best decision would soon follow as I decided to study abroad in Hong Kong throughout the spring of 2014. These four months shaped me beyond comprehension and exceeded all expectations of a study abroad experience. After a sixteen hour flight and unlimited viewing of hit sitcoms “Parks and Recreation” and “Modern Family”, I somehow managed to sit in an airplane chair long enough to cross the Pacific. I arrived in Hong Kong safely. Unlike my exchange counterparts whose flights arrived earlier, and, as a result, received complimentary transportation from the airport to the University, I had to find my own transportation. After the grueling sixteen-‐hour flight, the last thing I wanted to think about was determining the optimal transit route to Lingnan University. Nevertheless I exited the plane as if I arrived in New
Christopher Hickey 4
York City, a place full of chaos, independent people, and bad drivers. That in mind, I was in full on “battle mode” efficiently going through all the necessary checkpoints to acquire my luggage, access to the country, and transportation to properly acclimate myself. Since I was all on my own I didn’t really have that moment to celebrate my arrival. I immediately went into self-‐preservation mode just to get to the university. Early on I realized not to always approach situations in such a defensive manner. Every person I asked for assistance when trying to determine a transportation route was very gracious with his or her time and willing to assist at all costs. I falsely compared Hong Kong to the likes of New York City; however, the manner in which people interact is drastically different. People in Hong Kong would come out in droves trying to answer one of my questions or assist me in any way where in New York City one seldom finds a generous person willing to spare two minutes of their day to give basic directions. This moment doesn’t seem monumental, but it reshaped my mindset at the beginning of my semester. It changed my perspective and I had not even left the airport. I realized that I did not have to approach this brand new situation with such a brashly independent attitude. These locals viewed me as an ally, not an enemy, and I I would soon find that the cross-‐cultural and experiential learning was far from over. I finally arrived at Lingnan University later that night after nearly a day of traveling from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania to Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. After checking in, I received the key to my room. So anxious to sleep, I shoved the key to my room in the lock and turned it with such force it broke in half. The rigged long end of the key was wedged inside the lock. I was so exhausted at this point in time that I started searching for an inflatable mattress to temporarily sleep in the hallway. Though it was truly a team effort when their personal assisted me. They were calm, understanding and thorough in their help despite it almost
Christopher Hickey 5
being midnight. I usually mitigate situations on my own so it was a different feeling having so many willing individuals ready to aid at any moment. Similar to the transportation issues I encountered at the airport, this broken key fiasco was a raw introduction to the students and staff of Lingnan University and Hong Kong as a whole. In spite of screwing up, which generally would make one feel even more uncomfortable in a new group setting; I was embraced with such grace that I felt a firm sense of belonging. These people were prepared to host me with open arms, which can only be fully actualized if the recipient is open as well. The next morning the exchange students started to trickle in and it was evident that groups were already forming. There were two natural groups one comprised of exchange students from the prior semester who decided to stay abroad for the entire academic year and one group of brand new exchange students. It was only natural that further subgroups started to form based on people’s country of origin. Human nature tends to direct people to what is familiar and known. With that, it was hard to meet new people from different parts of the world since those from France, for instance, were fraternizing with other French people simply because of that basic commonality. Interestingly, those from the United States were not as close given the different regions of the USA home to the American exchange students. Though we are all Americans, there are still numerous cultural differences from people who live in Georgia to Illinois to California to New York. We seemed to not have as much in common or a sense of national pride as other country groups did because we did not have a connecting force beyond our nationality given the multicultural nature of the United States. It is quite ironic that what seems to be one of the most praised aspect of the United States, in its being a melting pot, was actually the biggest
Christopher Hickey 6
detriment to the USA group unity in the early days of the exchange program. Thankfully there was someone who was a returning exchange student from Spain, who was rather outgoing, corralled the eighty plus exchange students in one central meeting place in the center of campus and we all introduced ourselves and started to talk. Though I am usually a naturally gregarious individual, I approached the situation as if I was talking with my grandparents. By that I mean I followed the two cardinal rules of conversation: do not discuss politics or religion. I mention this rule because when the group started to intermingle and get more familiar with each other throughout the night, people’s more sincere opinions emerged. Paola, a Mexican exchange student, vocalized some less than flattering opinions about Americans and Europeans much to the disgust of German exchange student, Mona. Paola suggested that both Americans Europeans were pretentious by nature with no concern for others. Ironically, Paola soon mentioned that she wanted to gain American citizenship to better the life of her family despite her aforementioned concerns. Mona, who was also a returning exchange student, took issue with these broad statements. This is not to suggest that no one else disagreed with Paola’s views, they just chose not to verbalize Mona proceeded to yell at Paola about how the entire study abroad process is to experience a variety of people and cultures different from one’s own cultural values. In those differences one finds the room to appreciate their home country’s cultural ideals. This condescending lecture escalated quickly leading the two women to an all out verbal altercation while all the other students sat back in silence. The argument got to a point where an American girl, Ellen, tried to mediate the situation. Suffice to say Ellen inclusion derailed the reconciliation process even further.
Christopher Hickey 7 I distinctly recall this incident for the simple fact that it perfectly articulates the very
purpose of study abroad. Firstly, a study abroad experience is not about jet setting around the globe before, after, and sometimes during your semester abroad. Rather it is about the interpersonal relations with local people and culture as well as with the other exchange students. This entire situation greatly concerned me simply because I did not think that people could be that sheltered. Upon reflection, I soon realized that my encounters with each person from another country are a direct reflection of not just myself but my country. Meeting students from Morocco, Ghana, Turkey and many other countries, this semester or two may be the only time these people actively engage with an American. When talking with other students from around the world, they described Americans as invasive both personally and militaristically, arrogant, and lazy as well as other less than positive descriptors. Through this semester abroad, I made a concerted effort to remember that I am both an ambassador for West Virginia University and the United States of America. I wanted to show that Americans are not just the people who invaded Iraq or Vietnam without just cause in their minds. Additionally, I expressed how my views do not always coincide with the decisions made by the American government. Though they are elected officials, we can only influence their decisions to a certain extent. This explanation among my everyday encounters and overall demeanor shattered the perception of a stereotypical American. While people partied until three o’clock in the morning and skipped their Friday morning classes, I was back on campus completing assignments, studying, and going to my classes. I made a point to just be myself: a hardworking, persistent-‐ so yes, sometimes invasive character-‐ student who wants to excel at the task at
Christopher Hickey 8
hand. Now Paola is actually one of my good friends. Her disassociating me from my nationality allowed her to meet Chris Hickey the person not just Chris Hickey the American. This experience provided an unfiltered insight into the lives of each person and respectively each nation. The media dictates the majority of each individual’s perception of other nations and its people. Recently the news has been clamoring about the ongoing issues between Israel and Palestine with most reports leaving the viewer inclined to choose one side over another. After this semester abroad, I realize that there is so much more complexity to these global issues beyond the superficial summaries promoted by the media such as “Free Palestine” or “Israel was in the right”. It would be rather hypocritical for me to criticize the actions of a whole group of people or nation from myopic lens after feeling vilified by Paola due to my nationality. Though it sounds like a rather rudimentary concept, one’s perception about a given topic, group or cause changes when there is a personal affiliation to that topic, group or cause. I am grateful that this event transpired so quickly into the semester that I could be more understanding when talking to people from all different backgrounds. This truly was a fascinating start to a four-‐month social experiment. Further examining the sociological aspects of my semester abroad, most courses required a group project composed of exchange and local students. One particular assignment was to simulate free market competition and market changes based on the implementation of marketing strategies. There were four mock firms consisting of about seven or eight students each with most groups having an equal ratio of local students to exchange students. Despite the inevitable cultural and language barriers, I assumed that each team member would be focused on the goal of optimizing our firm’s market share in the given time. This assumption could not have been farther from reality. This was not a
Christopher Hickey 9
matter of one’s heritage or language proficiency, not every player enters situations with a killer instinct. Ask my family and friends the first adjective they associate with me is competitive. Whether I’m playing a friendly game of go fish or raising money for charity, I will find a way to come out on top. Though I am definitely not the smartest, strongest or most attractive of my peers, I tend to think work harder than most. With that competitive nature and my high standard of work, I enter situations with the impression that each person will do whatever it takes (within the legal and ethical confines of the project) to win. At the end of the day, results matter. This group project was a great example of the idea that not everyone involved in a project are always completely invested, particularly when it has no direct positive or negative impact. I approached the first meeting with a set agenda since the professor said we needed to delegate eight different roles in order to achieve the greatest results. Everyone was rather timid at first, so I decided to speak up and introduce myself, my country of origin and major in hopes that others would follow my lead so we could delegate tasks to the most qualified people. After everyone introduced themselves, the group all looked at me and unanimously vocalized that I should be the leader. There was no prior discussion about this decision yet they all agreed saying I was the most serious and task-‐oriented individual. I accepted this role without hesitation, but was intrigued that I gave off the vibe of such a seemingly domineering figure. I usually lead group projects when in classes at WVU; however, given the unique grading system paired with an exchange program, it made incentivizing team members a lot more difficult. With most exchange programs one only needs a C or sometimes a D to receive a passing grading, which usually does not affect one’s home university’s GPA, in a given course. There was no obvious carrot of a final grade
Christopher Hickey 10
looming over top people throughout out the process. To hopefully foster some more team spirit, I made sure each member of the group had a specific task to complete at all times so they felt they had creative control over that aspect. Overall our group did not fair well against our competitors; however, we did show incremental growth in industry market share throughout the duration of the project. If the project continued, I imagine our firm would continue its positive trend in market share growth, since as a leader, I kept discovering the best ways to individually motivate my team members despite the lack of a tangible incentive. Though this was a trying task at times, it provided a great opportunity to hone my leadership and communication skills. This opportunity would have never It was exceptionally hard to motivate people without grade as an incentive. Evidently, not everyone wakes up every morning wanting to win. When most reflect about their time studying abroad, they note their view of the world and those who live in it besides their own nationality changes dramatically. Since I studied abroad in Spain for more than a month in the summer of 2013, I was exposed to some of the world’s perceptions of Americans and the numerous commonalities my culture and their cultures. I learned more about my ability to manage people and developed a greater appreciation for my home university and country. I am usually a very energetic character, who gets wholeheartedly invested into projects that I assume others will follow my lead, and can sometimes be rather blunt which some do not take kindly to. What I learned throughout the semester was not everyone works at my pace and I need to modify my methods of communication based on the people or group with whom I am working. I also developed a great appreciation for my University. There were so many small detail oriented things that one takes for granted when attending a large, affluent land grant
Christopher Hickey 11
institution. For the most part, there’s always something to do on campus and options are basically endless. Lingnan was a smaller school so it naturally did not have as many avenues to explore or as many student organizations. Furthermore there was not a sense of community. When I walk to class every morning and pass by hundreds of people, there is this ineffable palpable energy in the air. Morgantown, West Virginia is such a unique environment in that it provides the benefits a small town with close access to the city and suburban living. It is the best of both worlds! You just do not get that close sense of community when you are in such a big city and you are rushing around trying to sight see on the weekends and go to class during weekdays. This experience provided context in my life affirming my pride as an American citizen and just how blessed we are to live in this country. I never would have thought that studying abroad, which was a must-‐do on my initial college search list, would further my professional leadership brand, embolden my gratitude for being an American and appreciate how much West Virginia University has given me. Whether it is inside or outside the classroom, in Morgantown, West Virginia Santander, Spain, or in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, WVU has provided a fantastic holistic education on a global scale, and for that I am extremely grateful. At this time, I would like to reintroduce myself to West Virginia University with a slight addendum. “Meet Chris Hickey: The Honors Student Who Vowed to Never Attend WVU, who is now their biggest fan.”