Feature Article
BEING BOLD. THINKING HIGHER.
By Doug Goodnough
How a
$148 Loan
During his visit in March, Ping chats with Sister Magdalena Ezoe, OP.
Turned into a Multimillion-Dollar
Business Career
P
ing Dong is living proof of the American
Dream —even though he lives in China.
Chang’an Street, downtown Beijing, China.
Armed with a $1,000 scholarship to Siena
Heights, a $148 bus ticket and a driving will to
succeed, Dong ’86 traveled from China to the
United States to study in America. In 1981, that
was no easy task. However, using his Siena Heights
degree as a springboard to success, today Dong is
a flourishing international businessman involved
in multimillion dollar ventures.
He credits his Siena Heights education for helping
him reach his potential. But he had to get to
Siena first.
Tiananmen Square, downtown Beijing, China.
“At that time I was in one of the good universities (in China),”Dong said of his initial interest
in studying in America. “A couple of American
professors were teaching there and they were good
friends with Dr. (Lou) Vaccaro (Siena Heights’
president at the time). Dr. Vaccaro asked if they
could find some (Chinese) students (to attend)
Siena Heights. That’s how I came to Siena.”
With that $1,000 scholarship to Siena Heights,
Dong made his way from China to Los Angeles,
briefly staying with one of his American professors
from Jilin University before arriving at Siena.
Great Hall of the People, downtown Beijing, China.
20
Reflections Summer ’07
“I read some about America and listened almost
every night to the Voice of America on the radio,”
Dong said of his preparations to visit America.
“But even knowing more than most ordinary
(Chinese) people, I was still shocked. At that time
China had very little supply of anything. If you
had a pencil, it was one kind. Here, you have
potato chips, and there’s 10 different brands.
I didn’t even know what a hamburger was. It
was an ultimate first impression.”
In fact, he wasn’t sure how he would make it to
Siena Heights’campus. Fortunately, his professor
friend loaned him the $148 bus fare to travel from
Los Angeles to Toledo, Ohio, where a couple of
Siena students picked him up at the bus station
and drove him the 30 or so miles to Adrian.
Once on campus, he had even a bigger adjustment
to make – understanding English-speaking professors and classmates. Dong, who dropped out of
school in China after the eighth grade to pursue
a career as a professional musician, showed he
had the determination to perservere.
“I had a hard time following speech,”Dong said.
“People talked too fast for me. (In America), nobody assumes that your English isn’t good. The
first time I walked out of the back door of the
dorm, a guy came up to me and said, ‘How are
you doing?’ What did he say? I never learned that
phrase. I learned, ‘How do you do?’and ‘How
are you?’After about 10 minutes I realized what
he was saying.”