The first YCA Alumni Career Mentorship event kicked off this Friday the 26th of October. The event was held in Jingyuan 4, where scholars across all cohorts had the opportunity to meet, share experiences, and mingle with each other during the course of the evening.
The speakers, alumni scholars from the first and second cohorts, represent a variety of nationalities and are currently working in diverse sectors both in China and abroad. From their unique perspectives, these YCA alumni shared their after-graduation experience with excited third and fourth cohort scholars.
Guests hailing from North America include Fang Xinyue (Alice), a 2015 scholar from the USA who is currently working at Google as a User Experience Researcher; Hannah Feldshuh, a 2016 scholar also from the United States who is currently working as a Geopolitical Analyst and Editor for China Policy, a Beijing based policy advisory firm; and Joe Mazur, a 2015 scholar also from the USA and also based in Beijing, who is currently working as Project Manager for the startup Alpha Partners Education.
Hailing from Asia, we had the pleasure to welcome Chen Zhenxing, a 2015 Chinese scholar who is currently working as Media Operation Specialist at Sohu.Com Inc. Furthermore, we also welcomed the European alumni Mikk Raud, a 2016 scholar from Estonia who is currently working as a Cyber Security Consultant at Control Risks Hong Kong, and Ricarda Brosch, a 2015 scholar from Germany who is working as a Curatorial Assistant at the Museum für Asiatische Kunst (Asian Art Museum) in Berlin. Finally, from South America we were delighted to welcome Thiago P. B. Bessimo, a 2016 scholar from Brazil who is based in Beijing and currently working as Projects Director for BRASA Ásia.
The event kicked off with alumni scholars introducing themselves and their backgrounds. They also delighted and amused the audience by reminiscing about their Yenching experience, and expressed what a positive difference the program has made in their careers in opening up opportunities both in China and abroad.
After this introduction, eager third and fourth cohort scholars asked the guests practical questions, ranging from how had they used their time during their second year at Yenching in order to strategically enrich their careers, to inquiring about working visa procedures and contract signing with companies based in China. The audience received insightful information and advice, thus benefitting from the experience of their peers in navigating career uncertainty, confusing paperwork, and muddled HR procedures.
After the Q&A session, our guests shared their contact information with attendees, making themselves available for guidance and for addressing further doubts. By the end of the evening guests and attendees were left to mingle amongst snacks, and scholars from the third and fourth cohorts had the opportunity to approach the YCA Alumni directly and chat at a more personal level about their experiences and career prospects.
We'd like to give our special thanks to YCA Alumni Ricarda Brosch, who brought the book Faces of China, published by Museum für Asiatische Kunst, all the way from Germany to be donated to the Yenching Academy Library, in order to enrich our art book collection.
For YCA Alumni who would be interested in sharing their experience in further YCA Alumni Career Mentorship events, please contact us at ycaalumni@pku.edu.cn.
