【69】This is a story to be further developed @ TMD Holdings, Pittsburgh

There will be no pictures for this entry, for it occurred in a professional setting where carries a lot industry information. That means, I will also keep this experience short and less elaborated.

I did try to ask myself first, "Then, what is the point of sharing if you can not have a picture, nor can you fully write the story and those involved?。。。Not Yet, at least"  Then I realized that this was indeed a profound experience and it says a lot about Pittsburgh, about some entrepreneurs, about my home country of China and the vast opportunity it brings/creates in the world economy. I can simply not be able to ignore it.  Plus, if this is to be the last post of 2014, I want it to be able to leave an hopeful tone for the coming year of 2015. Hope is essential.

This is about my encounter in Pittsburgh with two entrepreneurs who are capable, ambitious, rich, successful, and want to keep themselves in the backdrop yet what they do seem to be in people's life in an omnipresent fashion.

And they are right in the neighborhood of 15213, not far from Idea Foundry's office on 4551 Forbes Avenue. The week before, Mike was telling me about he met this guy in a parking lot after a business function, who apparently drove a very fancy car. Then the next thing, Mike and I were on the way to meet him and his brother in their office to talk about potential business collaborations. We were led to a cafeteria with a setting like a bar. That was where we were going to have the meeting. "Quiet unusual" I thought. Then meeting with them turned out to be nothing less than unusually inspiring.

Tommy really knew what he was talking about. Henry was very amiable on the other hand. You can just tell they both are alarmingly bright and savvy.

Henry Wang and Tommy Wang. TMD Holdings, and many more business adventures from luxury men's wardrobe, lady's fashion line, to real estate, education, design, and manufacturing. Just when you are in awe how far they've come along, and what kind of empire they can build, Henry told us during the tour he gave after the meeting that they just started a furniture line called "Carnegie Next". "Quite Ambitious, isn't it?" I concealed my two (no, maybe twenty!) thumps up and thought to myself.

Henry said one thing before we left the building that I thought how wonderful to hear. Hope to note it here as a reminder. He said something like this: "Many years ago, when Tommy and I got started, people had doubts, after all, we were just two brothers with a lot of crazy ideas. Now we are still trying very hard. But we have made our ideas happen, and acquired business discipline to not always get hotheaded for just an idea. We don't like to share, we do it all by ourselves, and we have found a pretty good way of doing business both in China, in the U.S., and the rest of the world. It is pretty exciting."

This is an exciting time. China's economic development just generated a vast volume of middle-class, which creates an ever-increasing consumption and buying power both in domestic and international markets for services and goods. My hope for building a bridge between Pittsburgh and China will prevail. I hope it can, and will work towards that goal everyday on the platform that is promising, and just as much challenging at the same time.

The fact that the brothers chose Pittsburgh as their base camp, and I am here, just make the whole scenario more exciting. I am excited as a Pittsburgher as well as a Chinese. Why Shouldn't I be?

Apparently Mike was pretty inspired and consumed after the intense meeting too. Much to be excited about, much to be hoped for...... Like the Power of 32 has acquired millions of dollars to enhance the infrastructure for the 32 countries in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland to attract Business to come to the region.

Cheer for the year of 2015.

Beer Winning Trivia @ TMD Holdings

1. TMD Holdings is one of the industry's leading Global Sourcing and Manufacturing firms. Headquartered in Pittsburgh with wholly owned subsidiaries in China, TMD Holdings offers an all-inclusive product and service solution. The company combines award winning creative services and reliable custom manufacturing and sourcing, with a decade of retail experience to help its customers achieve amazing results. Its stellar reputation and proven track record have made the company the go-to manufacturer for such leading industry giants as Coca-Cola, MGM, Jack Daniels, Disney and many others.

Over the years, TMD Holdings have developed a vast network in China and other countries of the world. Due to the high creativity, and strong business acumen and discipline among its core leadership, TMD Holdings are constantly exploring new ways of capitalizing ever-surfacing market opportunity as well as its business network..


2. Power of 32.

【68】A glimpse of the Old Chinatown @ Third Avenue, Downtown, Pittsburgh

Few newcomers to Pittsburgh know there was once a China town here. Before 1950s, Chinatown was a prosperous place like any other ones in this country. Since the economy downfall, a large population got ousted, all those shops closed one by one as a result. Today, there is no China town in Pittsburgh, only a modest Chinese population and several Chinese supermarkets in Strip District. Despite all those ups and downs, one restaurant, located on the 3rd Avenue, called Chinatown Inn has been around the corner for 70 years, run by the same family from Southern China, is the only element left, through which you can still have a glimpse of the old Chinatown.

I only read about the old Chinatown in the books and didn't get chance to wander there until early December this year, when I was looking for a place to host a Wuhan delegation visiting Major's office to enhance sister city relationship. Mike and I went there first to test the food. We both liked the spirits in the place, history mingles with grace. It turns out, the owner of the restaurant is a couple and the wife is from Wuhan. So we worked together and pinned down a decent menu to entertain guests.

To my surprise, all the American guests we had that day can speak very good Chinese! Bill from PNC bank, John and Michele from University of Pittsburgh. Well, Debra, our Chief officer in Innovation for the city has Hongkong heritage and can speak fluent Chinese too! Several of Chinese professionals who are accomplished in their fields were also invited and they gave me so much inspiration. I felt so fortunate to be at the table with everyone.

Hope we will work together in a harmonious way to make City of Pittsburgh a destination for more Chinese students, tourists, and business people. This is indeed a place for my countryman and woman, young and old, to experience authentic America and those traces of Chinese culture here and there being part of this melting pot.

【67】First Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner @ Leechburg, Home 2014

Before I first came to the U.S.in 2009, I knew of Thanksgiving Holiday only through brief readings. The Native Indians treated those newly arrived immigrants a great feast to welcome them to the Land of Freedom in 1620. Because of the kindness of the Indians, the newcomers escaped starvation and death in consequence. However, the newcomers brought many urban virus along with them and a lot of natives died of the diseases that they previously had no immune to. It seems that the Holiday is a sad occasion for those who lived here way before those European immigrants. But as many things in history, some of them is easy to change faces as it involves along with people's lives and traditions. Just like who would normally think Halloween was a most historical holiday long celebrated in Western culture for harvest rather than ghosts?

Well, anyways. The first Thanksgiving I had in the U.S. was in a good friend, Michelle, Mother's house. Traditional dishes were cooked. Family time was much cherished. I remember that I loved the biscuits, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, and cranberry desert a lot. The turkey was good too, but for some reason, it made me feel very sleepy afterwards. I guess it was because the stomach was working aggressively to digest the food and consumed too much blood that the brain just decided to lay back let the rest of the body take care of itself.

The year of 2010, I was back in China preparing GRE and TOEFL test for graduate school application during the Thanksgiving. Then came back in 2011. The school was tough and the stress from Matt's family was so overwhelming that I don't remember what happened in those two Thanksgivings. Vaguely remember we might have cooked in Mother Morgan's place for a Thanksgiving meal, but that may not be accurate at all. That's 2012 Matt moved back to work in PA.  2013, I graduated, Family situation was so tough that I started to worry Matt's safety living with his Mother during weekdays. So Matt put out a mortgage, we got our first house. Friends from North Carolina, DC, New York, and Pittsburgh drove to the almost empty house to celebrate Thanksgiving. I cooked a mixture of American food and Chinese food. We had a good time. Almost zero balance in the bank account, but we managed to share the joy with those who we care as we started out.

This year, in the glorious year of 2014, we start to feel a little bit more composed and comfortable. Our careers are getting started and we both are doing meaningful work in our own industry. We are still not very social in our spare time, rather like to stay home reading. We got couple of friends and liked to share the holiday spirits with so we invited a group of people to our house. This time, I proudly cooked my first traditional Thanksgiving Dinner ever, with all the traditional dishes: Turkey, Gravy, Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and sweet potatoes. The only thing being forgotten was Cranberry dishes. Well, that means next year, I have room to improve tremendously. Always a good thing.

Five Chinese friends and an American friend. Eight people, a good number. May everybody have a wonderful year ahead. Thank you for all the relationships in this world. We have much to be grateful for. Counting those blessings, I know how Lucky I have been. Like Grandma Donna said, "Lingling, we are all blessed lucky ones, for we have a healthy body, a sharp mind, a normal life, and some happiness there and here. We need to pass on our kindness to others."

Now, looking forward to the Christmas. ....... Just like this, I have started to build a life, with so many memories, here in Pittsburgh, my adopted home.

【66】A hidden Gem of real Pittsburgh @ Tic Toc Restaurant, Macy's Downtown

You know when you find something good. It just makes you happy. In the case of a restaurant, if you want to go back and share it with others, let it be your friends or strangers you just meet for the first time, you know you like it.

My boss Mike, who is a proud Pittsburgher and has a great deal of knowledge and affection to his city, introduced me to Tic Toc when we were at Downtown meeting a business associate. It is a restaurant tucked in the first floor of Macy's Department Store on the 400 Fifth Avenue. The food there was great and the waitresses were very friendly. I noticed that they were elder women, not too many younger ones. It reminded me of a diner a friend took me close to Oakland several times in the attempt to allow me to experience something America.

Anyway, when I came back from my month-long trip in China. +Rachel Szewczyk and I went there to grab a lunch. I told her that she had to experience this Cafe, it is such a neat place. So together we went and had a good time. She is now a decision-scientist at Highmark. We talked about this and that and then she shared this big idea of hers to organize some sort of Women society, in which women professionals or women in general can inspire and empower one another. 

It was such an enjoyable occasion, and she paid the bill. It is even better! Well, next time it would be my turn, I am thinking to go back there with her again. What would you say Rachel?

【65】A love affair in Seven words@Absent and Present October-November

From the second half of October to the first half of November, I was away. I went back to China, where you could say is my motherland, and stayed there for a hustle-bustle month. Got some work done, met lots of people for business as well as for friends and family reunion, and yes not surprisingly felt ill, just like many westerns would do when they are there, for a long while due to the air pollution in most of the cities on my agenda. 

While adjusting myself to the familiar-turned strange-turned familiar country, I was in awe how much China has advanced in the past several years, especially in those big cities. You could see skyscrapers everywhere in both CBD and residential area, housing developments often extend miles and miles to no end in your eyesight, Starbucks and luxury brands are fixtures in those high-end shopping malls, where customers seem of no shortage....On the other hand, I also saw the side of China I had known for a long long time, where small mobile business stances selling food or other goods are crowed in market places, those business owners stand in the cold and wind all day waiting for customers while always keeping an eye on the City authorities who often confiscate or destroy stances for the sake of public image of the markets, and those residences hurry in and out of those closely built high-rise buildings for their separate days and lives and never give too much attention to those around them. All of these amaze me, comfort me, but also puzzle me and make me wonder why in the world people's lives can be so different. More alarmingly is that those differences are open and visible for everybody to see and the "high" and "low", the"big" and "small", and the"grand" and "humble" are often not that far from each other either. This might have contributed to a lot of resentment Chinese felt in a lot of ways towards one another in a superficial monetary aspect.

The one thing that seems never changed was my hometown where my parents, relatives, teachers, friends live. It is still a warm, clean, humble, and yet upbeat county, township, village where the mundane world seem to be able to disappear in front of those familiar faces in an instant. I love that feeling, just like when I am in Pittsburgh, my adopted hometown, I feel a clear presence of the power of Love and the power of Dream. So long you are surrounded by people who you love and love you back as well as who you respect and respect you back for what you do, by a sense of purpose to make some memories, and by a genuine belief that whatever you do matters, you are brave enough to live each and everyday full. It is that fullness makes us present, and being present in life is a blessing.

So while I was away from Pittsburgh, and present in the places where I come from, I was inspired by an English Hint Fiction contest, in which contestants can only use seven English words to tell a story. It is so powerful to see how far and deep a few words can reach an audience. I dare to challenge myself and use this style to record and share my love affair with Pittsburgh and my hometown.

The day I left, I lost, home.  (Pittsburgh, and my family here just give me a strong sense of belongings)

I see you, in my parents' winkles. (Wherever my parents are is my hometown, although I am not there most time of a year, I see it and miss it still)

Higher, Further, Stronger, You are still behind. (When a country's development is simply driven by GDP, there are still so many things behind, like equality, happiness, and quality of life for all)

Back, back into torment, by two childhoods. (For a traveler, we will never settle in one home without experiencing torments inside. We miss our parents who gave birth to us and always treat us with unconditional love, for we are their children. But we also can not miss the opportunity to have a life of our own, to give birth to our own children, their grandchildren, to pass on the beautiful love we had received.)

【64】Chinese in Pittsburgh@WestingHouse

Heidi Profile:

Name:                       Heidi Zhang Title:                          WestingHouse Senior Legal Counsel, Asia Profession:               Legal Services Employer:                 WestingHouse Electric Company LLC Education:                Duquesne University, School of Law Location:                   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Year in U.S.:             1991-present Origin in China:         Beijing Education in China:  China University of Political Science and Law, History of Chinese Law First Impression:      Elegant, Peaceful, Amiable, A woman with substance Media Impression:    FriendlyPittsburgh; FriendlyPA; (WeChat, Weibo)-Chinese in PA

Heidi Story:

On July 22nd, I had a privilege to squander two hours of Ms. Heidi Zhang, a seasoned lawyer’s time, without paying her even a penny. Even more outrageous was that I got stuck in the traffic and was 15 minutes late for our appointment at the Panera Bread restaurant in a booming business district called Cranberry, just half an hour north of Downtown Pittsburgh. A lesson learned: Always planning some buffer time for meetings, especially those important ones. However, that is not the only valuable thing I learned out of that interview appointment with a rough start. Heidi was a bundle of inspiration and wisdom. Much was learned that day about her professional journey in the U.S.; her philosophy of raising her daughter and balancing life and career; as well as her words of wisdom for peer Chinese parents and younger generation. Heidi came to the U.S. shortly after destiny led her into meeting her future husband, a visiting scholar from Duquesne University, in early 1990s’ Beijing. As a graduate of China University of Political Science and Law majoring in the History of Chinese Law, Heidi had obstacles landing a job in the U.S. at the very beginning. Especially back in those days, when Postal Office was the equivalent service to today’s email, job application not only took longer to proceed, but also it was harder to get good and current information in the job market. However, with Heidi’s determination and persistence, she pursued a career of law, and found her position with Cohen & Grigsby P.C. a Greater Pittsburgh Area law firm. While she started working in the firm in 1994, she also started to attend Duquesne University School of Law Evening Division in the same year and got her law degree in three years’ time. Once well-equipped with both Chinese law and American law backgrounds, Heidi found herself well positioned to serve her firm’s broad client base and playing a more and more vital role in the business. Because of growing network in the business and her stronger pursuit of work satisfaction, in 2004 she encountered a good opportunity that resulted in a decision of leaving Cohen & Grigsby and joining PPG  Industries Inc. She spent almost three years of her time with PPG and honed her skills even further. In 2007, she decided to leave the corporate and started her own law practices that covers both Chinese and U.S. law practices. The money was good. But at the time, her daughter was still very young. After postponing to have a child for about 10 years in exchange of her dream career, at this point, she felt more inclined to spend some quality time with her daughter and husband in a relatively stable and predictable environment. So when another great opportunity with WestingHouse Electric Company LLC occurred in 2008, she packed away her entrepreneurial attempts, and geared up to become a senior legal counsel who manages the entire Asian market for the company. Although currently flying all over the global is still part of the job, more time with her family, especially her daughter who is sixteen now, would have been much appreciated, she said she was still happy about the stability and predictability of the corporate environment brought to her life. The safety social norm and well-educated population in Pittsburgh helped her to maintain a higher level of mental stability and easement as well. Especially in a comfortable and affordable community like Pittsburgh, she humorously pointed out that people here didn’t need to work themselves to death to make ends meet or to enjoy certain level of comfort, so Pittsburghers are more inclined to spend time on enriching their lives outside their career or job. Having a work-life balance and making time for a life is important. It is important for Heidi and she got it. She gave me a score of 11, when asked to score her level of life satisfaction here in the Pittsburgh region ranging from 1 to 10. It seems that she is an elegant superwoman who got the best of both worlds. When asked about her daughter, her peaceful outlook unavoidably gave away a hint of joy and pride. She said to me, “My daughter is always busy. She sings, plays stage drama, and volunteers. She just got elected to be part of their high school student government. She got a bunch of friends who helped with that course, and I believe her advertisement was funny--she used the Chinese historical Character MuLan with an exaggerated traditional Asian flat nose as her image to run the election. Being funny is very important in this case and other students liked her or her MuLan image, so they voted for her. ” When I asked whether her daughter was in private high school or public high school, Heidi said to me the following with a very confident tone, “I believe it is important to give her an environment that is the closest to the real world from a very young age. Private high school is more of a status symbol and kids might be over protected or provided. Public high school on the other hand is like our society. You have people from different walks of life, and you need to learn working with them with respect and preference. Then a whole dynamic of personality, most time a matured personality, will be better developed under such environment. I just hope my kid to be happy, grow up being able to make her own judgements and decisions, and be able to solve problems in the real world. As long as she is happy, she would be a good person no matter what she does, she would be successful in her own definition.” This very western-oriented philosophy of raising a kid resembles so much with that of my Dad and Mum. As much as I held a deep pride of being my parents’ daughter, I respect Heidi’s choice, and I wish more and more parents would give the way they raise and treat their kids a serious consideration and further form a dialogue that can direct parents, especially most of our Chinese parents, into better practices. (This picture was taken during a prom Sabrina (in blue dress third to the right) attended.) Towards the end of the interview, I asked her to give some words of wisdom for younger generation who hasn’t made it, but on the way there. She succinctly summarized it and amiably delivered it. She said: Improve communication skills, including language; Understand societal and organizational culture; Have a good work ethic; Don’t be afraid of LOSE FACE--for Chinese guys; and Don’t think we are only women but consider ourselves professionals who have something important and valuable to contribute--for Chinese girls. Heidi is not the first amiable and likeable lawyer I have ever met outside board or court room, and she will not be the last one either. But her personality and quiet nature backed up by an unshakable confidence resulted from years of professional experiences really left a strong impression on me. I relate to her, look up to her, and feel so lucky to be able to have such a juicy conversation to learn a story of an accomplished Chinese woman in Pittsburgh. Sometime things with a rough start may end pretty smooth and fulfilling. Just like most of life journeys. Just like this interview with Heidi Zhang.

【63】An Inspiring and Resilient Entrepreneur@Pittsburgh

In January 2013, Michelle Barabas donated 5^th Street School building, which she had purchased and been revitalizing since 2008, to the Borough of Donora. She purchased it for the price of $8,500 and spent over $35,000 on the renovations. Michelle intended to transform it into a living market as well as a nonprofit to assist local residents in raising their property values. She had a lot to tell as an entrepreneur, as well as a person who is full of ideas and ambitions.

In 2008, she graduated from the International Academy of Design and Technology with a degree in Visual Communications only to find that the market crash months before was leading to major layoffs in corporate graphic design and advertising departments nationwide.

She started an apprenticeship on a 10-acre green farm and got immersed into horticulture. At the same time, she was also actively seeking an investment where she could utilize the $10,000 she had saved from her educational loans. That is the essence of entrepreneurship, they are always pursuing the next thing. Barabas is indeed an entrepreneur. You know it the moment you meet her.

When she saw this school building in Donora on the Howard Hanna website, she felt this was her opportunity. With her business plans from college in hand, she called the realtor and within 41 minutes, her bid on the building was accepted. The endeavor did not turn out as planned but with her optimistic and kind nature, she will also tell you that those lessons she learned from this journey turned out to be so valuable that they ultimately led to what she is proudly doing now in Pittsburgh.

Her business ideas were to construct a vertical market within the school so that the building could be run as a living market. The day she started the revitalization was when her troubles began. 

Firstly, know thy neighbor. Michelle’s school sat adjacent to a neighbor who disliked the fact that the vacant property was finally purchased. This was because the new ownership assumed by Barabas made the neighbor’s parking on her property illegal. The neighbor started to file complaint after complaint to the local authorities stating that Barabas’ revitalization was posing a risk to the air quality and safety of the neighborhood. In reality, the dumpster at the entrance of the school building (legally on Barabas’ property) was blocking where she liked to park on the school property. However silly the complaints were, annoyed local authorities made Barabas’ revitalization inconvenient and eventually impossible. 

Secondly, Barabas put herself and her fiance’ at the time on the title of the building, so when Barabas’ fiance betrayed her, a legal battle had to ensue to get the property under her name only. That incidence was not just financially consuming but simply exhausting to Barabas who only wanted to create something meaningful. 

Thirdly, there was one last episode. Barabas finally said “Enough is enough”. The neighbor never really stopped fighting Barabas and the local officials finally had enough as well. One day the working crew showed up and there were “Condemned” signs on every door. At the time she purchased the school, Michelle was told by the Code Enforcement officer that the property was not condemnable after inspection.  The problem was she couldn’t go back in time and there was no paper record of what the first officer had told her.  That’s when she decided to donate this property to the City of Donora, get away from the headache, and start something new and positive in Pittsburgh where she is originally from.

Her entrepreneurial pursuit in Pittsburgh to help people of all ages start and grow small businesses was not a simple one to say the least. This made me think a famous Chinese saying that “God will make you work very hard and come near despair before you are chosen for a noble mission.”

Her business endeavors range from working with artists to help them build promotional materials and ultimately earn a living doing what they love, to working with youth to enhance their professional  and entrepreneurial education from a very young age, and to working with NPOs to bring different empowerment programs to more people with a desire to make a better life for themselves across the U.S..  For a person who worships simplicity and clarity, you might be appalled by Barabas’ various titles and responsibilities in many programs. Don’t worry, you are not alone. I was appalled and wondered how she could possibly manage to do so many things at one time and deal with all the obstacles that seem to be there each step of the way.

Yet she did it all. Not only she has the elegancy to enjoy her victory, but most importantly she has the composure to tackle dismay. In 2012, her fundraising money from an event she hosted in Market Square was stolen by a streetman who happened to be at the right place at the right time; Her sponsorship money was stolen by partners who didn’t hold integrity in front of profit as a decent organization under U.S. law should do; There was even a conflict with her original organizational name and she had to swallow the bitterness and reincorporate during her third year in business.  Each and every time, she coped with it, stood tall and strong, and handled each adversity with more poise than the last.

Now her incorporated NPO, the Art Resource Teaching Society Inc. includes many business branches that suit her ambitions. She is also a Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Event Planner, and the VP of Klauscher Architects. Her for-profit passions allow her the luxury of donating her time to her NPO. This approach may not be the one most entrepreneurs would choose but this is Barabas’ journey. She fights to prove that with ideas and perseverance, anyone can make their dreams a reality.

As of October 2013, she expanded her youth entrepreneurship program into a new neighborhood in Pittsburgh. At the same time, her work with artists in both Pittsburgh and Florida also continues. In addition, she is about to simplify her organizational structure for expansion since Google for Nonprofits has denied her usage of Google products as a result of having a fiduciary vs. her own 501(c)3 status. Simplicity is always a good thing to strive for.

When writing this story about Barabas, I have been thinking how fortunate I am to know her. Just like I want my little sister, who has had a business plan posted on her bedroom door since before she even graduated from high school, to know her one day, I want myself to be reminded of this inspiring and resilient entrepreneur who has been doing everything to pursue her dream as a creator. If you got inspired reading this article… even just a little, please share it. As Michelle would say, “What good is inspiration if we keep it all for ourselves?”

P.S. Where we always met in Pittsburgh was a neighborhood called Dormont towards south of the City. I found the Dormont main street a very nice place, nice coffee shops where people are so friendly; great used bookstore where I found all the Ken Follett collections Matt and I loved! 

Thank you Michelle for bringing inspiration in my life and leading to find life's many precious offerings. Have a beautiful day!

【62】In the Past A Year & Full Circle @ Americorps VISTA, Google, Pittsburgh Cares, CMU, Pitt, Idea Foundry

I remember reading LITTLE WOMEN by American author Louisa May Alcott in middle school and was amazed by the interesting aspects of those sisters’ life and characters. But one remark forever struck me: “Leisure without any productive work heads only towards boredom.” I guess from then on, I knew the value of work, honest work, and the work that creates value and leads to the future.

In the past a year, I worked as an Americorps VISTA, went to Philadelphia, saw the ocean for the first time, went to California, visit Google Headquarter, got to know many wonderful people who does honest work everyday for the community, created something meaningful, and witnessed how a good team heads towards a promising future in Pittsburgh community. Will True went to Carnegie Mellon University for his professional writing master degree, Kevin Grande went to University of Pittsburgh pursuing his passion for a technology career, and I joined Idea Foundry to make an idea a business that brings value to both Pittsburgh, PA and my home country of China.

In this blogpost, two articles are shared to illustrate the time that has gone by and to remind of how honest work can bring us in abundance.

(October 2013)Documenting the journey while we move forward is instrumental, for when we look back, we can start a treasure hunt. I bet nobody is objective to the idea of getting rich, is it? Since my paycheck from HandsOn Tech is slightly above poverty level, a treasure hunt to get rich, super rich, is really needed so that I can work as if I don’t need the money at all!

In the past two months, my journey has been eventful: Went to Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University to recruit Skill Based Volunteers the first day I am at work; Attended volunteer fair at University of Pittsburgh a week after; Had a wonderful Google camp at Mountain View and met awesome fellow VISTAs; Completed a storyboard with Kevin and learned a lesson that we need to take each and every task with professional standard; Then Mary Strasser visited Pittsburgh and had a close interaction with our HandsOn Tech team…...Then it’s time for real work.

I mainly coordinated the workshops for the forthcoming a year. One challenge was to get

everybody on page and up to speed when they all have their priorities. However, due to the work done by previous years’ VISTAs, which made my work much easier, plus my persistence, the result turned out to be decent. Eventually we work as a team to get it all done and even made a pretty brochure to showcase our work in a more tangible way. Hopefully this can also be part of our legacy we leave behind.

To move forward, I myself will remember the fact that however chaotic the situation can be (

government shutdown), due to the rightful motivation our program has, I will be just fine. To get the most out of this coming year, I will dive in the local community and start to build asset and credentials for the project legacy as well as for myself moving forward.

(Full Circle September 2014--By Will True)

As she boarded a flight from Pittsburgh to New York, a connecting flight on the way back to her native China, Lingling Zhu wasn’t sure what the future held. This was Plan A, after all. Go to America, get some experience and build a resume, then fly back to her homeland with a leg up on her competitors, but she was conflicted. She was leaving behind a community that welcomed her and supported her, a love that could be the real thing, and a world class education she might not get anywhere else. So when she was seated on the plane next to a librarian from Carnegie Mellon University’s Qatar campus, it seemed predestined. You know, the librarian said, you should really think about CMU.

Alright, she thought. Plan B it is.

“I take pride in where I grew up.” Lingling was born in a small farming village on top of a mountain, a six hour drive up winding dirt roads from the nearest town of Huishui in the Shaanxi province of China. Although her family was poor, they were well respected within their community, as her father was an educated government official and her paternal grandparents were farmers. When she was 5, her father took her into Huishui where he worked to further her schooling; as she left, she began to cry, and her father turned to her. “You’re not going to make it. So soft, you can’t do this. People aren’t going to make a big name of themselves if they cry as often as you do.”

Sitting across from Lingling now, you don’t get any impression of softness. Softspoken,

perhaps, but not soft. Standing closer to five feet than to six, the first thing you notice is her jet

black hair, which frames her face at a square angle. She welcomes you with a warm smile and

a friendly greeting, no matter the time or the place, and more often than not will immediately

engage you in conversation. She has a very slight rasp to her voice, the type that commands

authority no matter the volume at which she speaks. Despite not speaking English on a regular basis until 2009, her grasp of the language is stronger than a lot of native speakers; even when it falters slightly, her enthusiasm for her work and for life in Pittsburgh never does.

Her mother eventually joined the two of them in Huishui, becoming the chef for the town’s police department. She would left that job to start her own business some time later, which became the spark for Lingling’s entrepreneurial spirit. “If you want to do something, you’d better figure out a way to do it,” her mother told her. “If you don’t, nobody else is going to help you to realize your dream.” At the age of 15, Lingling left her parents behind to attend high school in the city of Ankang, five hours away from home. Living in a dorm with 8 other students far from family took its toll on the teenager. “Looking back, it feels unbelievable,” she says. “How did I have that strong a resolution?”

That resolve eventually led her to the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in

Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan Province. “It was during those four years that I really

started to thrive as a person, not only as a study machine.” In a hushed tone, she talks about the times she would skip class to do something more personally fulfilling. With a more balanced worldview, it seemed like she was headed toward a prosperous future in her home country. Then, one day, her friend came up and asked her if she wanted to learn about a scholarship opportunity for studying abroad. It was the last day to sign up, her friend said. Now or never.

In 2009, Lingling came to America as part of an exchange program with Indiana University of Pennsylvania. To add to her economic base, she studied business administration and marketing. However, the region held a lot more for her than just academics. “Once I got here, I felt like my world just opened up. I didn’t know there were so many things I could do.” She became the president of IUP’s student exchange program, which helped her improve her fledgling spoken English skills, and she became a Chinese tutor. It was in that role that she met Matthew, her future husband. He was a geology student, and the two quickly became best friends, trading Chinese lessons for English lessons.

At the end of her exchange year, Lingling prepared to head back home. However. Lingling’s

professors were so impressed with her growth both as a student and as a person, that it would

be a disservice not to return to America for graduate school. In addition to an education, it would help her determine if her relationship with Matthew could last. Two birds, one stone. After some significant thought, she decided to pursue a graduate degree in Pittsburgh, but there would still be a year between for her in China while she applied to schools and took the required tests. In the meantime, she taught English at her old elementary school, giving something back to the system that raised her.

This theme of “giving back to your roots” would follow Lingling through the rest of her time in

Pittsburgh.

In the past decade, Carnegie Mellon’s student population has gone through a drastic change. The Office of International Education reports that the number of international students has doubled since 2003, from under 2000 students to over 4000. Of these students, nearly half of them come from China. In 2013, Asian students made up 23 percent of the student body; the only larger ethnic group was white students at just over 40 percent.

The draw of CMU to international students, especially from China, is multifaceted.

“CMU is the new Ivy League,” Lingling says with a sense of pride. At Southwestern, almost every class was chosen for her; at Heinz College, she was allowed the freedom to take electives alongside her core requirements and shape the Master’s degree in public policy she received in 2013. It was CMU’s focus on social entrepreneurship that caught Lingling’s attention. “My passion in life, I had already found out, is a combination of business and social good. Social good that can be sustainable.”

The university’s prestige and rigorous academic programs weren’t the only factors in her

decision. “I think it’s the people,” she posits. “People at CMU are humble. They work hard.” Her fellow students and the faculty at the Heinz School made a difficult transition a little bit easier. “[Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Education] Susie McIntyre, Vice Provost Dr. Amy Burkert, The Director and VP for enrollment services Lisa Krieg, Assistant Dean of Heinz College, Branda Peyser, and the staff at OIE Donna Frost, my advisors, they have supported me each step of the way.”

As she capped off her time, she received the Heinz College’s Barbara Jenkins award, which goes to a student that “demonstrated service to the Heinz College and made significant contributions to the quality of life for residents in the Pittsburgh region.” While she was honored to receive the award, Lingling didn’t feel as though she’d earned the second part of it. Instead of accepting one of the several marketing jobs offered to her, she chose to take a vow of poverty and enter the AmeriCorps service program.

For a small living stipend, Lingling spent a year working in Pittsburgh to bolster the city’s nonprofit sector with affordable and sustainable technology. The program, called HandsOn Tech, was a partnership with Google, AmeriCorps and the Points of Light Foundation in Atlanta, and provided her with a unique opportunity to hone her skills and make important connections while doing good.

Three months into her service, Lingling was contacted by Mike Matesic, the CEO of Idea

Foundry, a nonprofit that acts as a business incubator and commercialization accelerator for the innovations of Pittsburgh’s student population. Matesic wanted to expand Pittsburgh’s reach in China, positioning itself as a national leader in both tourism and education. Matesic asked Lingling if she could write a business proposal on the benefits and potential opportunities for Chinese visitors, which they could then pitch to investors. She put the proposal together in her spare time, and her and Matesic laid out a regional marketing plan.

The plan was successful, and as a result, Lingling was hired fulltime by Idea Foundry as the leader of their Greater China Initiatives program. In partnership with Visit Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the organization launched its “Friendly Pittsburgh” and “FriendlyPA” programs, which serve as user oriented hubs for prospective visitors and students and Business people to both the state and the city. “I really created something, I feel,” she says with a huge smile on her face. The two websites, FriendlyPA.com and FriendlyPittsburgh.com, are up and running now already.

In her role, Lingling is Pittsburgh’s unofficial cultural ambassador to China. After giving back to her two homes of China and Pittsburgh directly, she’s found a way to work for their continued success as a whole. “Even though there’s no direct link between me finding this job and Heinz College,” she says with total confidence, “I feel because of my education, my mindset and my work ethic, they’re all leading me to this position I’m in now.”

“Oh, the waiter’s name is Jake.” Lingling takes the pen with which she wrote the tip for dinner and writes “Thank You Jake” on the receipt, capping the sentiment off with a smiley face. It’s 6pm on a Friday, and she lives over an hour northeast of the city. It would seem obvious that she’d be on her way home. Still, it doesn’t come as a surprise when she responds otherwise. There’s a meet and greet at Heinz College for current and former graduate students, she says. It’s a great opportunity to network and learn what’s going on among Heinzers. Don’t want to be late.

P.S. Thanks Will and Kevin for a wonderful service year. Especially Thanks to Will, for the wonderful article he wrote about me and my journey. All the best for our continued growth in Pittsburgh.

【61】Three Float Ice Cream@Page Dairy Mart, South Side Pittsburgh

Few months back, when the summer just began this year, my boss +Michael Matesic at Idea Foundry, and my colleague and friend +Ruiying Yan went for a short sunny afternoon drive after a pleasant meeting in downtown Pittsburgh.

During the trip, Mike introduced his favorite ice cream growing up--Float, as well as a very special ice cream place in South Side Pittsburgh. Before heading back to our “smelly” office on Craig/Forbes right above bagel factory in Oakland, the golden corner of all time, Mike also showed us a suburb close to the ice cream place where he grew up . It was such an hearty experience.

We all ordered Float and felt happy about this early summer treat. Ice Cream, always good to lift spirits and sweeten memories. The Ice Cream place is called +Page Dairy Mart, which has been open since 1951. It is a family business and has gone through three generates within Page family to this day. We met Mr. Page, his wife and daughter in the store. Mr. Page even took some time and showed a wall full of the history of the shop and community behind his store. As he was vividly telling  old stories and pointing to those black and white pictures, I looked around and stepped into the old times thinking how magic time is and will always be. Behind the store, a huge bridge and some old factories are still there but have lost their old glories, yet this small store, a much vulnerable creature in size, is still enjoying prosperity after 60 some years. I wonder what the future would bring to this small yet delicious ice cream store as well as the mighty community it resides.

Visiting the neighborhood Mike grew up in was really Mike’s great intention to show Ruiying one interesting and signature part of American life--Suburbanity.  I enjoyed every minute of it. The old family house had been still beautifully maintained until recently was sold to a new family due to Mike’s mother moving into a nursing home. The house is so beautiful and I saw the family pride Matesic had growing up.  The community is well kept and gracefully holding the traditional American Pride. Mike even shared a story about his nickname amongst his friends growing up while passing a football field. I thought that was so sweet. Burger! Yeah, it seems that McDonalds has renewed their branding messages from a Kid’s fun restaurant to everybody’s favorite, since Mike’s affection for it as a kid. LOL . I think my nickname can be “Sugar Cone $0.47”.

Ruiying had a great time, so did I. We are very happy and fortunate to have a boss who cares people from his bottom of heart.

Now, looking back to have this experience entry, I wonder where did Summer go? Summer is almost over. So hurry up and go get some Page ice creams. Highly recommend Float, by the way.

Oh, Summer went camping.

Beer winning trivia @ Page Dairy Mart

Page Dairy Mart is currently located at the intersection of Beck’s Run Road and E. Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA.  The Page family built a Gulf Service and Gas Station  in early 1910s. The family business went through ups and downs, including a flood’s destruction. In 1951, Page Dairy Mart opened. It is still prospering until today.

This Picture has significant value.  “Becks Run Road was eventually redirected under the railroad trestle approximately 75-100 feet south of where it appears in this photo.  The building that appears in this photo was known as the Ormsby Mansion and was the home of the Butterwick family.  Emma Butterwick was born here and grew up to marry Charles Alexander Page.  The building was destroyed in the Saint Patrick’s Flood and no longer exists.  It is interesting to note that the road is not paved but a wooden boardwalk is visible for foot traffic.  You can see what appears to be horse-drawn trolley tracks near the bottom of the photo (see the water-filled hoof marks between the tracks). There is a shadow of a telephone pole and power line coming up from the bottom left-hand corner. A gas streetlight is on the corner. This photo was probably taken in the spring and sometime near 1900.”

For more historical photos of this wonderful historical site, please visit HERE.

ID@South Side Pittsburgh

What are those cool government agencies located in South Side Pittsburgh? Let me start with FBI.

【60】 First Pirates Game--Go Bucks!@ PNC Park--And some random thoughts of a day

August 7, 2014

Went to bed at 4:30am on Thursday. Didn’t get up until 8:30am. So took a shower and headed to Pittsburgh Cares office in Lawrenceville. It was an eventful morning. Followed up on HandsOn Tech responsibilities. Need to think about making an infographic for HandsOn Tech work to hand it to Pittsburgh Cares and SJ. as a summary of Pittsburgh Team three year's duration.  I will get the number for Will, he would do it. What a great thought! Other things to consider to make sure no inconvenience would be brought about for Pittsburgh Cares staff after VISTAs have been gone.

Helped with Laura’s research on the Edu-tourism side for the responsibility at Idea Foundry. Outlined social media aspect of our foundation, and dealt with other small stuff. I felt that my brain is working very well. When i am feeling purely happy, I am also tired. So decided to take a lunch break and walked to see Suzi at Asian Influences, it is always so lovely to see her and her gallery. A woman with a passion for art, beautiful things, and the world, remains beautiful regardless of her age. Suzi is like that. Found two brush pen holders, and got them for $10 dollars. How nice! I also noticed that the Chinese characters on the holders are HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I want to keep them to myself, but also thinking to give them away as gifts. Well, I will keep it to myself. Matt's birthday just passed.…..LOL

Went to Mary Ellen’s Divertido to pick up three gifts chosen for Google mentors. Next Tuesday would be the last trip I make to Google for the HandsOn Tech work. After that, I will just miss the Google lunch. The gifts for Pittsburgh Cares crew would be given away on the 21st. Samira also has a mandatory meeting with VISTAs set up that day, plus the staff meeting. So everybody should be in the office. I also will donate 100 dollars for Pittsburgh Cares for all the opportunities I have had here, things i have learned, perks I have enjoyed., and mostly for all the good work the organization is doing for the region. It is a small contribution, but it is from my heart.

Wrote notes for everyone, including the last HandsOn Tech workshop speaker Amy on the 12th of August. Felt headache and went to Wendy’s to get something to eat. No cellphone, just walk and observe, and I felt that I am becoming so sensitive again. I miss my Grandpa, miss all those villagers who spent their life in the mountain and never got a chance to see the world outside, miss my parents. Felt sympathy for people in the Wendy’s. There are old folks, younger ones, smaller people and big people. People dress plainly and people dress extrovert loud. I wonder how their life is. I wonder whether or not they felt love and happiness once in a while. I hope everyone is loved and cared by someone. I felt bad about Father Morgan and Mother Morgan. It is a shame that they couldn’t make choice allowing themselves to have a peaceful and good life in the end.

When we are disconnected with our work, our immediate life, our cellphones and life on the web , in front of a computer, life seems to become more colorful and emotional. Sometime, I really like a dose of idleness. There is a value in that. The world somehow is becoming more and more indifferent in a way, I think it should be attributed to the fact that people are connected and immersed in their own world, and didn’t disconnect periodically to just take in others and their lives. That means to make ourselves vulnerable to honest emotions, which can become a distraction. Focus brings productivity, distraction brings creativity. Creativity along with productivity, life then garners gravity.

Pirates Game. PC perks again. It is the first time I experience it. from 7 to 10pm. I will miss out Luke babe and Matt’s sleeping time, but I got to experience it for the sake of the blog and experience itself.

Matt babe called, and it is so sweet that he said, since he would not see me in the evening, it is those time that he missed me the most….LOL. Happy Lingling.

The Pirates game itself is very slow and not so entertaining to me. Maybe we Asians have been accustomed to higher-pace games, like basketball, Soccer,  Volleyball, Ping pong, Tennis, and etc. After all, what we seek might be excitement rather than leisurement. However, the experience was still so very nice and I was very grateful that Pittsburgh Cares had all those perks.

PNC Park locates on the North shore of Pittsburgh. During the game,the clemente bridge, one of many bridges that connect downtown Pittsburgh to outskirts of the city across Allegheny River, would be closed for people who parked in downtown garages to work to the arena. Since I was terrified parking downtown, after all that is where I first time hurt my car and  Matt was very upset about it, I asked my colleague fellow VISTA Will True to give me a ride. He was gladly agreed and we parked and walked across the clemente bridge. As I was walking, I was amused by the fact that Americans finally gave up their cars and started to walk for a decent 5 minutes or so for a ballpark game.  This is quite unusual if you consider that most of them would drive from their garage to the mailbox at the end of their driveway to get morning papers. Maybe it is human nature to give up certain things they held dearly and stubbornly if the price is right. In this case, Pirates game served them well.

I walked around the arena and along the river front before the game started, it was such a great feeling to face all those high-up modern buildings across the river, to be backed by an elegant arena full of joyful people, and to know that in between the two magnificent beings the ever-wonderful Allegheny river peacefully channels a life on the water. Let it be those private boats, the tourist yart, those tiny rafts paddling, or even the carefree duck or geese families, and people who sat on the grass in  those tree shadows or those who are bicycling, fit and beautiful. It is a great feeling to know the city is not in a rush. If you want, there is always a place you can slow down and recharge. Called Matt while sitting along the river taking all these surroundings in. It was a nice appetizer for the game.

It is true that people are very much eating the whole way through a Pirates Game. When I found my seat, it was about 10 minutes before the game start. Half an hour into the game, I still saw people flowing into their seats with handful of food and drinks. One hour into the game, the arena became full. A lot of cheers started to circle the park. Deb and I tried to text our messages to the big flowing band screen, our message never made it. We do see a lot of people are not shy expressing their love for one and another, or their excitement for the game! Although I bet most of them were distracted by food, conversations, and the voice of the host  or music in the air. Many things were going on at the same time. I had no sense how the game works. Thanks to Deb to give me some ideas, I was not completely lost. As Deb put it, this is not a game with a great of labor, but it does require high-level of skills. Well, that would do.

Usually the game would last for three hours. Will and I decided to leave earlier to avoid the traffic jam following the end of the game. I felt bad about not following through, but then when we bumped into many other like-minded people here and there on the way out, I felt less unease. Maybe this is part of the experience. The results didn’t matter much for the spectators. What matters was the experience that many people came together for a function and each of them got some enjoyment out of that function. I definitely did garner a whole lot of memories.

Oh, it is not that matters, but the game was between Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Martins. My seat was section 311 K-9. At the time we were leaving, the score was 5:0 Pirates was way ahead of Martins. Never knew the exact score at the end of the game. Didn’t make a small effort to even ask Deb, because that is part of my first ever Pirates/ballpark Game. Not knowing the results of the game but have been there and experienced a whole lot. No junk food or drinks though. How about that! But I will not be surprised if Pirates won. After all, Pittsburgh is a city of Championship! Go Bucks!

Here ends the day of August 7th, and my first Ballpark game ever. What a wonderful experience. Well if it counts.