Walking through the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, wearing a dark blue suit and tie, Matthew Sicheng Jiang—a rising senior at the George Washington University— is at home among the young professionals that live in the District. But his journey to D.C. started three years ago in China— with a few emails to GW alumni.
“A teacher recommended that I look into attending GW,” said Mr. Jiang. “I met with alumni in China and found that they loved the university. Once I arrived, saw the great location and experienced the classes, I knew that GW was a place I could call home.”
An only child and the first person in his family to study in the U.S., Mr. Jiang grew up with a passion for international travel, exploring Qatar, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates during trips abroad with his family.
He has only visited his family in China twice during his time as a student at GW and considers D.C. his second home.
“I believe that life is the most important class, and when I travel, I understand more about the world,” he said. “I’ve come to love D.C because it is so vibrant and people from all over the world bring their culture to the city.”
His cross-continental experiences led him to pursue an international relations internship this summer with the D.C. China Center in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development—a position that suits his unique qualifications.
“I work with delegations from international corporations and help them manage culture shock as they enter the U.S.,” Mr. Jiang said. “There is huge potential for American and Chinese corporations to work together, and as an international student I hope to use my knowledge to help people.”
The D.C. China Center was founded in 2012 as a public-private partnership to support U.S. businesses as they enter the Chinese market and attract Chinese corporations to D.C. As an intern, Mr. Jiang has worked with high-ranking Beijing government officials, the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
He said that he uses the knowledge gained from a liberal arts education—pursuing a double major in history and economics in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences—to act as a translator, develop marketing reports, contribute to presentations and assist with event planning.
“When I first started my internship, my boss, International Business Manager Karima Woods [M.B.A. ’11], asked me to write a marketing report, and I was nervous—but I learned,” Mr. Jiang said. “All that I’ve learned from my classes, my classmates and my past internships came together to give me the skills to handle this job.”
Mr. Jiang took on his college experience at a running start, earning the “Most Committed Volunteer Award” at local nonprofit organization D.C. Reads in 2011, playing the saxophone in the GW jazz band, King James and the Serfs of Swing, acting as a docent at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and serving as a GW women’s basketball team manager during his sophomore year.
“I’ve learned so much in the classroom and even more from my internships—together, all of these experiences are invaluable.”
- Matthew Sicheng Jiang, GW rising senior and D.C. Deputy Mayor’s Office intern
He has recruited more than 200 Chinese students as an assistant in the GW Office of Admissions, where he will become a senior interviewer in the fall. Mr. Jiang also worked with the GW School of Business to develop the China Career Immersion Program, a three-week intensive program that assists Chinese students in navigating the global job market.
The university boasts more than 3,500 international students and a comprehensive International Services Office. In 2012, the Division of Student Affairs developed the Committee on International Student Success to better serve the expanding community, focusing on career services, interdepartmental communication, data and analysis, and English language support.
“International students are a large part of the university and GW cares about our community,” Mr. Jiang said. “The university offers support in so many ways, from the Student Association to the Center for Career Services.”
In addition to enhancements laid out by the Career Services Council, a $5 million gift—donated in May by Board of Trustees member Mark R. Shenkman, M.B.A. ’67, and his wife, Rosalind—will support the GW Career Services Enhancement Initiative and the F. David Fowler Career Center at GWSB.
The Office of Alumni Relations, which connects current students with a community of 270,000 alumni around the world, has also been a resource for Mr. Jiang. He said that using the alumni database and LinkedIn to set up informational interviews with alumni in Seattle and New York has opened up a diverse range of opportunities.
“Alumni are loyal to GW because they enjoy the experience here,” Mr. Jiang said. “GW is our home and alumni like to make that connection with students. I have met a number of great alumni mentors, just from reaching out through email.”
As he enters his senior year, Mr. Jiang hopes to find a job in D.C. that will give him the same sense of accomplishment that he has gained through all of the “dream jobs” he has had as a student intern.
“I hope students will start early,” Mr. Jiang said. “I’ve learned so much in the classroom and even more from my internships—together, all of these experiences are invaluable.”
The Summer Intern Spotlight will run on George Washington Today over the course of several weeks to highlight the internship experiences of GW students as they pursue their academic passions through experiential learning.