By Tiffany Lee
I can’t believe that we just finished the AdVENTURE Challenge: China trip a few days ago and now every Terp is preparing to start their summer internships. All of us are a little tired after the long trip, but we know it was worth spending almost 20 hours on an airplane.
We learned a lot from the business plan competition at Peking University and had a great connection with students from different top business schools across the globe. We enjoyed listening to other teams’ business ideas and felt excited to show our business ideas to others. I was especially proud that my team got the “Best Presentation Award”. 
During the trip, we also visited four different companies in China, many of which were overwhelming. Doing business in China is a dream for many people and during this trip we got a glimpse of that. Yes, we worked hard on our projects and learned a lot from the competition. But, at the same time, we had lots of FUN. We got to view the Hong Kong skyline at night; had Dim Sum for breakfast; we connected with Smith alums in China; visited the Great Wall and tried to destroy it; learned to use chopsticks; and we even did Karaoke.
In addition, the Dean of Smith School of Business, Alex Triantis, also joined us as member of the delegation. It felt great having him there. The Dingman Center was able to arrange the competition and city tours very effectively. We really appreciate Dingman Center’s efforts and support, especially since it allowed us to focus on the competition and not the travel details.
I know most of us have already started to miss China, and so do I. I truly believe that this experience and all of things we learned could easily apply to our internships and future full time positions. Thanks for the great trip to start our summer. Be prepared to see Terps rocking it all over the world!
Tiffany Lee is a first-year MBA student originally from Taipei, Taiwan. Tiffany is concentrating her MBA experience on marketing, and decided to go on the AdVENTURE Challenge: China to learn more about the Chinese market. She is most excited about using the subway in Beijing during peak traffic hours, although she may not find any classmates quite as courageous to join her.