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Liz Dilts, BAJ ’08, moved to China in 2008. She now works for Map magazine.

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Alumna Liz Dilts and senior Brian Spegele are passionate about living and working in China, but they became interested at different times and in different ways.

When Dilts, BAJ ’08, was a senior, she saw some newspaper clips about how the overgrazing of cashmere goats in Mongolia was connected to pollution problems in Seattle. So, Dilts decided to focus her Hazeltine Travel Scholarship proposal on a possible trip to China.

Spegele, meanwhile, got hooked on traveling as a child as his U.S. Marine father frequently moved the family. So, when he decided to study journalism at IU, he knew he wanted to work abroad. He also knew it was important to learn a second language, and he chose Chinese.

Both shared their thoughts on China with students in Ralph Winslow Visiting Professor Jim Bright’s J460 International Public Relations class. Dilts joined the students by Skype teleconference from Nanjing and Spegele, who will graduate in a few weeks, visited in person.

Since moving to China in 2008, Dilts has lived in Tianjin, Shanghai and, now, Nanjing. Today, she is the senior editor at Map magazine. Spegele, who studied in Nanjing during spring semester 2009, will return to China with the Wall Street Journal’s Beijing new bureau in May.

Photo by James Brosher

Senior Brian Spegele chatted with new students after a panel discussion last fall. Working abroad has been his goal for several years, and he’s headed to the Wall Street Journal’s bureau in Beijing after he graduates in May.

Living there isn’t easy, they say. Among other things, they have to address cultural differences, learn the language, breathe dirty air and try to fit in.

Working for a Chinese company makes Dilts feel more a part of the country, who found it difficult at first to make Chinese friends. Gaining a basic understanding of the Mandarin Chinese language has helped, too, she added.

Dilts and Spegele cautioned students about buying into stereotypes about Chinese. It’s hard to make sweeping generalizations about the country’s population of more than 1.3 billion., they said.

Both said China will figure heavily in the rest of their lives – even after they someday return to the U.S. Meanwhile, their fascination with the country and the people grows day by day.

“I’ve never met a people that are more excited and optimistic for the future of their country,” Spegele said.