The First Lady speaks to American and Chinese students at the Stanford Center at Peking University on the importance of studying abroad.
Nihao it is such a pleasure and an honor
to be here with all of you at this great
university so thank you so much for
having me now before I get started today
on behalf of myself and my husband I
just want to say a very few brief words
about Malaysia Airlines flight as my
husband has said the United States is
offering as many resources as possible
to assist in the search and please know
that we are keeping all of the families
and loved ones of those on this flight
in our thoughts and in our prayers at
this very difficult time now with that I
want to start by recognizing our new
ambassador to China ambassador Baucus
president Wang chairman Zhu vice
president Lee director Quayle Cuellar
professor oi
in the Stanford center president Sexton
from New York University which is an
excellent study abroad program in
Shanghai and John Thornton director of
the Global Leadership Program at Jinghua
University thank you all for joining us
but most of all I want to thank all of
the students who are here today and I
particularly want to thank Eric
Schaeffer and Jiu Xuan Hao for that
extraordinary English and Chinese
introduction that was a powerful symbol
of everything that I want to talk with
you about today see by learning each
other’s languages and by showing such
curiosity and respect for each other’s
culture mr. Schaeffer and miss you
and all of you are building bridges of
understanding that will lead to so much
more and I’m here today because I know
that our future depends on connections
like these among young people like you
across the globe that’s why when
my husband and I travel abroad we don’t
just visit palaces and Parliament’s and
meet with heads of state we also come to
schools like this one to meet with
students like you because we believe
that relationships between nations
aren’t just about relationships between
governments or leaders they’re about
relationships between people
particularly young people so we view
study abroad programs not just as an
educational opportunity for students but
also as a vital part of America’s
foreign policy through the wonders of
modern technology our world is more
connected than ever before
ideas can cross oceans with the click of
a button companies can do business and
compete with companies across the globe
and we can text email Skype with people
on every continent so studying abroad
isn’t just a fun way to spend a semester
it is quickly becoming the key to
success in our global economy because
getting ahead in today’s workplaces
isn’t just about getting good grades or
test scores in school which are
important it’s also about having real
experience with the world beyond your
borders experience with languages
cultures and societies very different
from your own or as the Chinese saying
goes it is better to travel , miles
than to read , books but let’s be
clear studying abroad is about so much
more than improving your own future it’s
also about shaping the future of your
countries and of the world we all share
because when it comes to the defining
challenges of our time whether its
climate change or economic opportunity
or the spread of nuclear weapons these
are shared challenges and no one country
can confront them alone the only way
forward
is together that’s why it is so
important for young people like you to
live and study in each other’s countries
because that’s how you develop that
habit of cooperation you do it by
immersing yourself in one another’s
culture by learning each other’s stories
by getting past the stereotypes and
misconceptions that too often divide us
that’s how you come to understand how
much we all share that’s how you realize
that we all have a stake in each other’s
success that Cure’s discovered here in
Beijing could save lives in America that
clean energy technologies from Silicon
Valley in California could improve the
environment here in China that the
architecture of an ancient tipple temple
in Xi’an could inspire the design of new
buildings in Dallas or Detroit and
that’s when the connections you make as
classmates or lab mates can blossom into
something more that’s what happened when
Abigail Copeland
became an American Fulbright Scholar
here at Peking University she and her
colleagues published papers together in
top science journals and they built
research partnerships that lasted long
after they returned to their home
countries and professor neo ku from
Beijing University was a Fulbright
scholarship scholar in the u.s. last
year and he reported and this is a quote
from him he said the most memorable
experiences were with my American
friends these lasting bonds represent
the true value of studying abroad and I
am thrilled that more and more students
are getting this opportunity as you’ve
heard China is currently the fifth most
popular destination for Americans
studying abroad and today the highest
number of exchange students in the u.s.
are from China but still to
students never have this chance and some
that do are hesitant to take it they may
feel like studying abroad is only for
wealthy students or students from
certain kinds of universities or they
may think to themselves well that sounds
fun but how will it be useful in my life
and believe me I understand where these
young people are coming from because I
felt the same way back when I was in
college see I come from a working-class
family and it never occurred to me to
study abroad
never my parents didn’t get a chance to
attend college so I was focused on
getting into a university earning my
degree so that I could get a good job to
support myself and help my family and I
know for a lot of young people like me
who are struggling to afford a regular
semester of school paying for plane
tickets or living expenses halfway
around the world just isn’t possible and
that’s not acceptable because study
abroad shouldn’t just be for students
from certain backgrounds our hope is to
build connections between people of all
races and socioeconomic backgrounds
because it is that diversity that truly
will change the face of our
relationships so we believe that
diversity makes our country vibrant and
strong and our study abroad program
should reflect the true spirit of
America to the world and that’s why when
my husband visited China back in he
announced the , strong initiative
to increase the number and diversity of
American students studying in China
and this year as we mark the th
anniversary of the normalization of
relationships between our two countries
the US government actually supports more
American students in China than in any
other country in the world we are
sending high school college and graduate
students here to study Chinese we’re
inviting teachers from China to teach
Mandarin and American schools we’re
providing free online advising for
students in China who want to study in
the US and the us-china Fulbright
Program is still going strong with more
than , alumni and the private sector
is stepping up as well for example Steve
Schwarzman who is the head of an
American company called Blackstone is
funding a new program at Ching hua
university modeled on the Rhodes
Scholarship and today’s students from
all kinds of backgrounds are studying
here in China take the example of royal
Nicholson who’s from Cleveland Ohio she
attends New York University’s program in
Shanghai now like me royal is a
first-generation college student and her
mother worked two full time jobs while
her father worked nights to support
their family and of her experience in
Shanghai royal said and this is her
quote she said this city uses
persistence and inspires me to
accomplish all that I can and Happy
Birthday Royal it was her birthday
and then there’s Philmont highly from
the University of Washington whose
family came to the US as refugees from
Eritrea when he was a child and of his
experience studying in China he said
study abroad is a powerful vehicle for
people-to-people exchange as we move
into a new era of citizen diplomacy a
new era of citizen diplomacy I could not
have said it better myself because
that’s really what I’m talking about I
am talking about ordinary citizens
reaching out to the world and as I
always tell young people back in America
you don’t need to get on a plane to be a
citizen diplomat I tell them that if you
have an internet connection in your home
school or library within seconds you can
be transported anywhere in the world and
meet people on every continent and
that’s why I’m posting a daily travel
blog with videos and photos of my
experiences here in China because I want
young people in America to be part of
this visit and that’s really the power
of technology how it can open up the
entire world and expose us to ideas and
innovations we never could have imagined
and that’s why it’s so important for
information and ideas to flow freely
over the Internet and through the media
because that’s how we discover the truth
that’s how we learn what’s really
happening in our communities and our
country and our world and that’s how we
decide which values and ideas we think
are best by questioning and debating
them vigorously by listening to all
sides of an argument and by judging for
ourselves and believe me I know how this
can be a mess
and frustrating process my husband and I
are on the receiving end of plenty of
questioning and criticism from our media
and our fellow citizens and it’s not
always easy but we wouldn’t trade it for
anything in the world because time and
again we have seen that countries are
stronger and more prosperous when the
voices of and opinions of all their
citizens can be heard and as my husband
has said we respect the uniqueness of
other cultures and societies but when it
comes to expressing yourself freely and
worshipping as you choose and having
open access to information we believe
those universal rights they are
universal rights that are the birthright
of every person on this planet we
believe that all people deserve the
opportunity to fulfill their highest
potential as I was able to do in the
United States and as you learn about new
cultures and form new friendships doing
your during your time here in China and
in the United States all of you are the
living breathing embodiment of those
values so I guarantee you that in
studying abroad you’re not just changing
your own life you are changing the lives
of everyone you meet and as the great
American president John F Kennedy once
said about foreign students studying in
the u.s. he said I think they teach more
than they learn and that is just as true
of young Americans who study abroad all
of you are America’s best faced and
China’s best face to the world
you truly are every day you show the
world your country’s energy and
creativity and optimism and unwavering
belief in the future and every day you
remind us and me in particular of just
how much we can achieve if we reach
across borders and and learn to see
ourselves in each other
and confront our shared challenges with
shared resolve so I hope you all will
keep seeking these kinds of experiences
and I hope you’ll keep teaching each
other and learning from each other and
building bonds of friendship that will
enrich your lives and enrich our world
for decades to come
you all have so much to offer and I
cannot wait to see all that you achieved
together in the years ahead thank you so