The Year I Came to America

After graduating with my bachelor's degree from the Department of Architecture at South China University of Technology, I was admitted directly to the same department's graduate program. My original plan was to complete my master's degree and then settle down in China, where I would build my career and live a stable life.

However, an unexpected opportunity changed my thinking. I learned that a former high school classmate, W, had graduated from Peking University and received a scholarship to study in the United States. This inspired me tremendously. I thought to myself that my classmate had studied physics, a field in which scholarships might be relatively easy to obtain. I studied architecture, where scholarships might be harder to secure, but that did not mean it was impossible. If he could win a scholarship and come to America after just one year of trying, why couldn't I do the same? If I failed the first time, I could try again. Even if it took several years, I believed I would eventually succeed.

With that determination, I took the TOEFL and GRE exams and earned excellent scores. I applied to eight American universities. In the end, I had one extra set of application materials already prepared, so I decided to mail it to the University of Southern California (USC) as well.

Initially, I had not planned to apply to USC because I assumed California was a popular destination for international students and competition would therefore be fierce. I only applied because I had an extra application ready to go. To my surprise, USC was the university that offered me financial assistance! Although I had not even paid USC's $50 application fee at the time, the university eventually insisted that I pay it a year later. 😁

When I received the letter offering me a scholarship, I was incredibly excited. I read it several times, but then something did not quite add up. The estimated annual cost of attending USC was $23,000, while the scholarship and financial aid package totaled only $16,000. After careful consideration, I wrote to USC again and asked whether they could increase my scholarship. I explained that the financial assistance they had offered was not enough to cover my expenses for one year of study.

Professor Robert Harris, the department chair at the time, promptly increased my scholarship by another $2,500 without hesitation. I immediately asked all my relatives and friends whether they could help me find the remaining funds, but nobody could come up with a solution. So I wrote another letter to USC, explained my financial situation, and asked whether they could provide additional assistance to cover the shortfall.

Professor Harris once again increased my financial aid by $2,500. His assistant, Ms. Doris, wrote to me and said, in effect, "Mr. Chen, you should try to find a way to cover the remaining amount yourself so that you can finalize your plans to study at USC."

Eventually, my high school classmate W came to my rescue. He helped me obtain a bank deposit certificate showing a little over $2,000 and asked another friend of his in the United States to act as my financial sponsor. With those arrangements in place, I was finally able to secure my I-20 and prepare to come to America to study.

Once all these arrangements were completed, obtaining my student visa at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou turned out to be surprisingly easy. When the consular officer saw me, he quietly said, "Ni hao" (Hello in Chinese). I did not immediately realize he was speaking to me. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he asked why I wanted to study in the United States.

I explained that my graduate studies at South China University of Technology focused on subtropical architecture, and Los Angeles also had a subtropical climate. I could therefore continue my research there. Without asking any further questions, the consular officer approved my student visa.

After receiving my visa, I faced another challenge. I knew practically nothing about life in America, and I had never visited USC. Fortunately, another high school classmate, C, helped connect me with T, a fellow alumnus of the High School Affiliated to South China Normal University who had graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China. I arranged for T to meet me at the airport. At the time, he was pursuing his Ph.D. in physics at USC.

I had purchased a ticket with Northwest Airlines, with a six-hour layover in Seattle before continuing to Los Angeles. Since I had already cleared U.S. immigration in Seattle, getting out of the terminal at Los Angeles International Airport was relatively quick. I collected my luggage and waited for more than two hours, but T was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps he had assumed that it would take me a long time to clear immigration and customs, or perhaps he was running late because of work. Whatever the reason, I was left waiting anxiously.

I was also incredibly naive at the time. I had not brought a single U.S. dollar with me, only a little over HK$11,000. Before leaving China, I had assumed that American dollars would be plentiful in the United States and that exchanging money there might even offer a better deal. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at LAX, the currency exchange office had already closed. I could not exchange a single dollar.

I later discovered, after arriving at USC, that exchanging Hong Kong dollars in the United States was actually a worse deal. Many American bank employees had never even seen Hong Kong currency. When exchanging money, they sometimes had to consult a book containing photographs of currencies from different countries just to identify the bills. On top of that, the exchange rates were highly unfavorable to us.

Here is a small incident from my very first day in America that I have never forgotten.

At LAX, I needed a luggage cart, which cost $1 at the time. Today, the price has risen to $3. But I did not have even a single U.S. dollar in my pocket.

I turned to an elderly American woman nearby and asked whether she would exchange HK$10 for US$1. At the time, one U.S. dollar was worth approximately HK$8. She was incredibly kind. Without hesitation, she simply handed me a dollar and told me not to worry about giving her the Hong Kong dollars because they would not be of much use to me anyway.

It was such a small gesture, but it left me with a wonderful first impression of the American people. I have never forgotten her kindness.

T was several years ahead of me at the High School Affiliated to South China Normal University. He was an outstanding alumnus whose reputation I had heard about for years, although I had never met him in person. Fortunately, I had the foresight to mail him a photograph of myself about a month before coming to the United States, so he would be able to recognize me.

After collecting my luggage, I became increasingly nervous because I still could not find him. I eventually used a pay phone to call him, and that was how we finally managed to locate each other.

During my early days at USC, T helped me tremendously. He even went to a Chinese supermarket to buy rice for me. I remain deeply grateful to my high school classmates and alumni for their kindness, assistance, and support during those difficult early days in America.

To the best of my knowledge, I was probably the first architecture student from South China University of Technology to make it to the United States on my own initiative with a scholarship and financial aid package.

Before me, there was a graduate student named Lin Xuehui, a senior alumnus in the architecture program. As I recall, when the head of MIT's Department of Architecture visited our university, Lin served as his interpreter and subsequently received an offer covering approximately half of his financial needs at MIT. However, because he could not secure the remaining funding, he was unable to make the trip.

Looking back, my journey to America was far from easy. It required determination, persistence, resourcefulness, and, above all, the generosity of friends and strangers who helped me along the way. What began as a seemingly improbable dream eventually became a reality. This experience taught me that opportunities often emerge unexpectedly, but we must have the courage to pursue them and the perseverance to overcome the obstacles that stand in our way.

Gang Chen, Publisher/Bestselling Author (GreenExamEducation.com)

Architect, LEED AP BD+C, Real Estate Broker (BRE# 01232392)