Feature：Chinese American students experience U.S. political operation at federal level

Deanne Chen is a senior student at University of California at Berkley majoring in English and rhetoric, but her dream is to see how American politics are operating.

Her dream finally came true two weeks ago when she was accepted as an intern at the White House in Washington, D.C..

"I have been very active in politics and have spent time doing intern in San Jose, California at local government. However, my dream is to come to the U.S. capital to experience by myself the political operation at the top level. I am so pleased that now I am in Washington, D.C.," Chen told Xinhua in an interview over the phone.

Chen is among the very few students who can win a chance to intern at the White House, the center of American politics. She is not allowed to talk about what she is doing there, but one thing she can tell is that she is now experiencing some most important political events that are taking place in the United States.

Chen was born in San Jose, but since she was 6, her parents had sent her to the Chinese school to learn Chinese on Saturdays. Now she can have conversations in Chinese, but writing is still hard for her, she admitted.

"My bilingual ability is definitely a plus for me here," Chen said. Chen is the only Chinese American student who has won her internship this summer at the White House with the recommendation of the International Leadership Foundation that cooperates with the White House, the U.S. Congress and other government offices to select qualified students from the Asian community in the country to do intern there.

"I feel the urgency to learn more Chinese since many of my non- Chinese classmates are learning Chinese," said Chen. In Washington, she has many chances to use her Chinese language skills as an intern.

Lily Yin is another lucky Chinese American student who has won her chance to intern at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration（NASA）office in the U.S. capital.

Yin is a student at University of Southern California majoring in business and accounting, but she has the intention to pursue her Ph.D program in education.

"I feel lucky being able to do my intern at the chief financial officer's office at NASA," Yin told Xinhua. She said Washington is different than Los Angeles, as she can only experience the operation of important government organizations like NASA there.

"I think my experience here will be a great help for my future career," said Yin.

Yin, who is also a member of the Civic Fellowship Program selected by the International Leadership Foundation, said she is expecting to meet students from China with the Young Ambassadors Program.

Joel Szabat, founder of the International Leadership Foundation, told Xinhua that this summer the Foundation has increased the number of internships from 30 to 50 Asian students, while 20 students from Beijing and 15 from Taipei will come to the United States as Young Ambassadors for a 2-week training.

He said students from the Young Ambassadors Program are not able to have internships in Washington, D.C., but they will have a chance to join the 50 Asian students who are doing their internships in the U.S. capital to exchange views.

It is a tradition for students in the United States to seek opportunities of internship during their school years to gain experience for future careers. Some internships are paid, some not.

In the United States, up to 2 million people participate in internships every year：around 75 percent of them are undergraduates.

Szabat said the tradition started in the 1970s, and in the 1980s and 1990s, it became more popular. However, Asian students often found it more difficult to get internship opportunities, and that prompted him to start the foundation.

Chiling Tong, president of the International Leadership Foundation, told Xinhua that students from China surprised their peers from the United States because of their ability to speak good English and their perceptions on world affairs.

"Those students from China are from top universities such as Beijing University and Qinghua University and have showed their solid knowledge on U.S.-China relations and issues on world affairs. They even performed better than many of the students from the Asian community in the U.S., based on the previous programs," said Tong.

She said right now students from China can not join other Asian students for internships at government offices, but they will have a chance to exchange views with other Asian students in the internship program.

"It is a good experience for students from China and the U.S. to learn from each other and exchange views on many issues. They may have different views but they learn on ways to compromise.

That's the way for the younger generation to communicate. Today they are students, tomorrow they may be leaders in their own countries, and the experience they have today will surely be a plus for their future and for the two countries," said Tong.