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Courtney Woo '03

Courtney Woo

Courtney Woo '03

Major(s): Asian Studies, English minor

Employer: City Weekend Magazine, part of Ringier International Advertising
Country of residence: China

What was your Asian cultural experience upon graduation from Bowdoin?
After graduation, I moved to Shanghai, China and taught English at Shanghai University. My program was actually a joint venture between Shanghai University and the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. I spent two years there, teaching business English, academic writing, business report writing, etc. Now I am still living in Shanghai, but I’m working as an editor for an English language magazine called City Weekend. It’s an entertainment guide to China and Shanghai, published twice a month.

What was your motivation for searching out an Asian cultural experience upon graduation from Bowdoin?
Two reasons – academic and personal. Regarding Academic reasons, I was an Asian Studies major at Bowdoin, had studied Chinese, and had studied abroad in Beijing. Regarding the personal side, I’m half Chinese. My father was born in Chengdu and grew up in Hong Kong.

What previous experiences prepared you for your experience?
Definitely the Chinese language classes, my Asian studies coursework, and my study abroad experience in Beijing. Also personal experience with the Chinese side of my family. I grew up surrounded by Chinese culture.

What methods, contacts, etc. did you use to arrange your experience?
For teaching, I searched the internet for different American programs that send teachers to China. The best ones I found (at the time) were Western Washington University’s China Teaching Program, Princeton in Asia, Appalachians Abroad, and the Colorado China Council. I ended up going with Western Washington University. However, since then, it’s become a lot easier for Americans to arrange teaching contracts directly with a Chinese school, without the help of these middlemen, so I’ve heard that several of the programs have closed down. But you still need to be careful, because a lot of schools end up ripping you off, they don’t deliver what they promised, and the teaching conditions can be poor. So you still need to do lots of research.

Country in which you are currently residing:
China

Organization for which you are working:
City Weekend Magazine, part of Ringier International Advertising

Are you currently using your Asian language skills?
Yes, a bit every day

Did your experience influence your current and/or future career choice and job skills? If so, how?
Possibly – I am currently working as a magazine editor, and I absolutely love the fast-paced magazine environment, and the creative side to it. I am considering making this a career.

Are you willing to be contacted by students who are interested to learn more about your experience?
of course.

Story posted on December 21, 2005

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