Understanding Through Engagement

understanding through engagement: how cross-cultural exchanges foster a global mindset

Some lessons can’t be taught in a classroom, and with the end of the pandemic in sight, we are reminiscing on five unique first-hand experiences in China. Discover why seeing is believing as American students take us on a journey of learning and understanding that allows us to look forward to the day we can observe the world from a different point of view. Through a student-led discussion, we unearth how cross-cultural exchanges broaden perspectives, inspire ideas, and create a lasting impact.

Emily Hayes

American University

Emily Hayes

Emily Hayes is an education and city reporter for The Durango Herald in Southwest Colorado. She recently graduated from American University’s political journalism and public affairs graduate program and is the recipient of a fellowship from the Pulitzer Center for a reporting project on depopulation and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on rural Italy.

Emily got her start as a journalist in Florence, Italy, covering art exhibitions and cultural exchanges between Italian students and international students studying abroad in Florence. Since then, she has had the privilege to cover events such as the prime minister of Italy’s push for Albania and North Macedonia to join the European Union, as well as efforts from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of the Four Corners area to establish their own school driven by Ute culture and language on the reservation.

Her trip to China in 2019 with the China-United States Foundation instilled the importance of traveling and learning firsthand about cultures different from your own. Speaking with officials and journalists in Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao opened her eyes to new perspectives and ways of living.

About Emily

Maia Hatchett

American University

Maia Hatchett

Maia Hatchett believes that our differences make us stronger. She is a recent graduate from American University located in Washington D.C. and is a CUSEF alumna. She was recently featured on The China Current podcast discussing her experience in China and is currently an intern at the U.S. Department of State, where she works on a range of international environmental issues. She is passionate about sustainability and diplomacy and is positioning herself to work in the Foreign Service in the future.

About Maia

Aly Azhar

Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs

Aly Azhar

Aly Azhar finished his Masters in Public Administration from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in May 2020. Currently, he works as an Analyst for an electric & gas utility company in New Jersey focusing on energy efficiency projects. Passionate about climate change and renewable energy, Aly studied energy policy and finance while at SIPA and was drawn to go on the China Trek 2020 because of China's growing role in the fight against climate change and to learn more about what China has been doing in the field of renewable energy. Having grown up in Karachi, Pakistan for 10 years before immigrating to the U.S. and having spent five years working in public health in West Africa, Aly is very interested in global affairs.

About Aly

Josh Schwartz

Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs

Josh Schwartz

Josh Schwartz traveled to China with CUSEF and the Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA) delegation in January 2019. He graduated from Columbia SIPA, where he focused on international security, in 2020 with a Master of International Affairs, and he now works as an Associate Contracts Analyst at MITRE. Prior to his studies at Columbia SIPA, Josh worked at a human rights NGO and a security think tank in Israel. Intercultural exchange has been an integral part of Josh's personal life and career, and he looks forward to sharing his experiences and thoughts in this USHCA webinar.

About Josh

Amir Kazi

University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Amir Kazi

Amir Kazi graduated from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy in 2019, and was part of the March 2019 CUSEF cohort which travelled to China. Amir's interests lie at the intersection of technology and strategy; he is currently working in the Chicago government, as well as teaching a University-level class in Python.

About Amir