Forging relationships to last a lifetime
How a caring support system can open hearts and career paths
By Kate Hoving
Marjie Harris and Peter Lambert have participated in the Reves Center’s Global Friends Program since 2012. One of the first students with whom they were matched returned in May for her 10th reunion. Chen Jin ‘14 was returning to W&M for the first time since she had graduated, and seeing Marjie and Peter was at the top of her list of things to do. “It's the main reason for coming to the U.S.—to visit William & Mary and Marge and Peter. I made such a strong bond with them, and I really love William & Mary.”
The Global Friends Program has a transformative impact on everyone involved in the program—from participants to Reves staff--and Marjie, Peter and Chen wanted to come to the Reves Center to meet with Eva Wong, director of ISSP, and Mona David-Starman, who manages the program, interviewing and matching students and community members.
Eva has seen the long arc of the program over her years at the Reves Center. “I've had the privilege to see so many relationships develop over the years. I've seen students who come as freshmen. They graduate and they come back. And I also get to see, along with Mona, so many relationships.”
And in many cases, these relationships are enduring.
“It’s so affirming, when hosts tell us, ‘I just attended the graduation of my student.’ Or, ‘I attended a wedding.’ I’ve also heard, ‘They've had a baby, and we want to see it.’”
Global Hosts are drawn to the program for multiple reasons. Marjie and Peter had been involved in AFS Intercultural Programs– the high school program that involves homestays. They didn’t host the students, but they were, as they describe it, “aunt and uncle types.” They found it rewarding, but when they retired and moved to Williamsburg from Maine, they realized they would enjoy working with older students.
“Shortly after we moved in the fall [2011], there was an article in the Virginia Gazette about Global Friends,” Marjie recalls. “And I said to Peter, ‘Those are my college students. Let's do it.’”
They now consider their experiences as hosts one of the most enriching things they’ve done since moving to Williamsburg. They currently meet with three graduate students (from Bangladesh, Iran and Nigeria). Marjie thinks to be a successful host, “You need to be interested in learning about other cultures and meeting different people, and we really are. That's what attracted us to the program. It's just such a door into the world.”
Mona adds an important component. “In selecting Global Hosts, I look for people who have an open heart and are willing to be open to other cultures. Because for me, it's very important that students get paired with people who will respect them, no matter who they are or where they come from. Our hosts are really welcoming to any culture and students.”
A new experience for all concerned
In January 2012, Marjie and Peter were matched with Chen, who was a freshman.
Chen was looking for ways to involve herself in life at W&M. “I just signed up for a lot of Reves Center activities. I really want to thank the Reves Center for holding so many different activities. I had my first ski lesson and ski class on a Reves ski trip.”
Chen was also trying to find opportunities to meet local people and to learn about the local culture, so she signed up for Global Friends."
No one could remember where they had their first meeting, but they agreed it was outside, and that was by design.
“I advise the students to meet outside somewhere, so they can get a sense of the people and feel comfortable with them. And it's the same for the host, so they can get to know the student. And eventually, whenever the hosts invite them to their home, the students can accept and feel comfortable.”
Marjie interjects warmly: “We felt comfortable with Chen right away.”
“Generally, most hosts do,” Mona concurs. “I have wonderful hosts. I really do.”
Their meetings involved all sorts of activities, including the time Marjie helped Chen bake a birthday cake for a friend. There was clearly a lot of laughter and relaxed fun no matter what they did together and often included Chen’s friends and other students. “I always have cookies and brownies in my house for karaoke, break time or teatime,” Marjie says. “We have this karaoke place in our basement. It's nothing fancy, but they really liked it.”
Chen also stayed with them for a few days at that LPGA Tournament at Kingsmill. “She'd never been to a golf tournament. Peter took her out to the front yard to show her what a golf club was, and we thought she was just a natural at it.”
But one activity they did was especially memorable for Chen: “They showed me Acadia National Park.”
Marjie and Peter invited her to go to Maine with them. “We have a place in Deer Isle, and Chen came up there one summer,” Marjie remembers. “It was fun introducing her to lobster and driving a boat. It's a very rural part of Maine. Chen was game for anything.”
“That's the first national park I visited in America,” Chen says. “Now I visit a lot of national parks in China.”
Fully engaged in life at W&M
In addition to participating in the Global Friends Program, as she mentioned, Chen was determined to get as much as possible out of her time at William & Mary.
“I wanted to do something to conserve nature since high school, so the first thing I did when I came to William & Mary, was to take different classes about the environment and environmental issues.” That led to her decision to be a double major in economics and environmental science policy.
She also took advantage of W&M’s study abroad programs, participating in two exchange programs: one in Kanazawa, Japan; and one in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Chen’s spring semester program in Iceland, entitled Sustainability for Community, was especially meaningful. “I really love the exchange programs at William & Mary. Before I came, I had read on the website that William & Mary has very high ratio of students in exchange programs. I wanted to study abroad in Reykjavik. I lived in an eco-village.”
There were six students in her program, and two were from William & Mary: Chen and Yilin Yang ’15.
The experience was illuminating. “That community was so very different from my past experience. I think I didn't notice I liked the vibe of the community until I was trying to create or do the same thing in China. I tried to get people together, especially nature educators, and live in a community, and to show how people live their lives with nature.”
Academic inspiration
Chen credits Beverly Peterson ‘72, MA ’81, Ph.D. ’94, adjunct associate professor of English, for inspiration to pursue her passion. “She told me in a freshman seminar class about the ethics of climate change, and even though I just had one class with her, I made such a strong connection with her.”
She had hoped to meet with her again on her visit to Williamsburg for her reunion, but she couldn’t find her on the W&M website, as she had retired. With a little research, though, it was possible to contact her and, she remembers Chen very well and very fondly:
“She was in a freshman seminar I taught in Fall 2011. That semester, I named the seminar 'Everything's Cool.' Chen is correct in recalling that one of the purposes of the class was to examine the ethics of climate change. Another purpose was to consider communication strategies that would improve the way scientific findings are communicated to a lay public.
“One of the first papers Chen wrote for my class examined a community's claims that pollution from a railroad had caused a young girl's cancer. She did a fine job of contrasting that claim with a claim from a different community that claimed a company was polluting ground water. Chen pointed out the responsibilities of private industry and government to protect the public's health, and she said that one of the communities had done a better job of conducting scientific research to back up their claims. How's that for a thoughtful analysis from a freshman international student?
“I also remember that on the last day of class, another student spontaneously asked that the other students give a round of applause to Chen for the contributions she had made to the success of the seminar.”
Chen completed her degree at W&M in just three years. Marjie and Peter have fond memories of Chen’s graduation. The actual ceremony was affected by a terrible downpour, but Chen’s parents stayed with them, and they enjoyed sightseeing, including an impromptu Segway ride in Yorktown.
“Chen was the interpreter,” Marjie remembers with a laugh. “She wore her neck out going back and forth. It was like a tennis match, sitting at the dining room table.”
Chen wasn’t sure she remembered the Segway ride, but she does remember they had a wonderful stay. “They thanked Marjie and Peter for being my parents in America.”
A sense of security and possibilities
After graduation, Chen returned to China to pursue her career in environmental education. She now lives in Guangzhou, the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China and is doing what her heart and her W&M experiences prepared her to do.
She has become a leader in environmental education, a new field for her country. “Nature education in China has just been developing over the last 10 years,” Chen explains. “It's very new, and people need more information and more communication and sharing.”
China Nature Education Network , her current employer, is the perfect vehicle for her. “It's an NGO platform to support and empower the nature education field in China. We provide workshops and forums for nature educators—both organizations and individuals—as well as hold events for the public to let them know what nature education is and why it matters.”
As the reunion at Reves was coming to an end, Chen remembered something else about how this meaningful friendship began.
“I almost forgot, but when we first met, I felt very anxious. I didn’t know how they would feel, if they’d feel differently about me. I just didn’t know what would happen.”
But her fears were allayed. “They were very kind. I really felt they loved me for no reason. It felt so safe.”
