Twenty-nine Chinese concentrators met with Bob Delaney ’79 and John Rice ’78, charter trustees of Hamilton College, for an informal conversation about their future careers on March 5. Delaney joined Crestview Partners in 2007 after retiring from Goldman Sachs in 2003 where he served in a variety of leadership positions. Rice currently serves as vice chairman of GE and president & CEO of GE Technology Infrastructure.
Delaney and Rice shared their extensive personal and professional experiences in Asia with the students. Both commented on the remarkable success of the Chinese program at Hamilton and emphasized the value of mastering a foreign language that is commonly needed in today’s global economy. They also encouraged the students to gain an in-depth understanding of another culture and to be willing to “go local” in a foreign country, as this will contribute to a successful career start in the highly competitive international job market.
The Chinese concentrators asked many questions related to their careers, ranging from new job opportunities in Asia and renewable energy enterprise in China, to advantages and disadvantages of students with liberal arts education in the present-day job market. The meeting proved to be extremely informative and valuable for the Chinese concentrators who are eager to plan their next step after graduation.
The Chinese concentration is a division of the East Asian Languages and Literatures department. It was first launched in 1999 and now has an average of 20 concentrators per year (this year, 25). A concentration in Chinese entails four years of language and cultural studies including courses in classical Chinese and Chinese films and literature. The department strongly encourages its concentrators and minors to spend at least half a year in China with Hamilton’s Chinese study abroad program, Associated Colleges in China. Chinese concentrators are also required to research, write, and defend a thesis in Chinese. The Hamilton program is the only one among U.S. undergraduate Chinese programs which that requires a Chinese thesis.
Delaney and Rice shared their extensive personal and professional experiences in Asia with the students. Both commented on the remarkable success of the Chinese program at Hamilton and emphasized the value of mastering a foreign language that is commonly needed in today’s global economy. They also encouraged the students to gain an in-depth understanding of another culture and to be willing to “go local” in a foreign country, as this will contribute to a successful career start in the highly competitive international job market.
The Chinese concentrators asked many questions related to their careers, ranging from new job opportunities in Asia and renewable energy enterprise in China, to advantages and disadvantages of students with liberal arts education in the present-day job market. The meeting proved to be extremely informative and valuable for the Chinese concentrators who are eager to plan their next step after graduation.
The Chinese concentration is a division of the East Asian Languages and Literatures department. It was first launched in 1999 and now has an average of 20 concentrators per year (this year, 25). A concentration in Chinese entails four years of language and cultural studies including courses in classical Chinese and Chinese films and literature. The department strongly encourages its concentrators and minors to spend at least half a year in China with Hamilton’s Chinese study abroad program, Associated Colleges in China. Chinese concentrators are also required to research, write, and defend a thesis in Chinese. The Hamilton program is the only one among U.S. undergraduate Chinese programs which that requires a Chinese thesis.
