One of the first six students from the College of Communications to complete a summer internship in China has earned a full-time job in country and will remain there for another year.
Brandon Taylor, who graduated in May with a degree in journalism and minors in history and political science, traveled to Beijing to start a six-week internship with "China Daily," the country’s largest English-language daily newspaper, just four days after commencement.
That unpaid, post-graduate internship -- which began with a brief "loose observation" period for all six of the interns because a sick person on their flight fanned flames of concern about swine flu -- provided ample opportunity for Taylor to get a sense of the country.
Early on during the internship, Taylor started looking for employment options in Beijing.
"After interning for only a few weeks and having seen so many of the sights in Beijing, a strong desire to extend my stay began to emerge," he said. "I decided that saying here would be a great opportunity to grow as a journalist, and as a young person starting out life in the real world."
As part of his job search strategy, Taylor sought advice from Bu Zhong, an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism at Penn State who lived and worked for years in China.
"One e-mail later, I had my answer," Taylor said. "Professor Zhong had the connections -- all the connections."
After a couple of interviews, Taylor landed his first job working as an English copy editor for the "Beijing Review" magazine, a "Newsweek"-style publication. He signed a one-year contract -- the longest allowed by law as it coincides with the length of a work visa -- and started work July 20.
"When I first arrived in Beijing, I wasn't sure what to expect or how I'd feel about China," said Taylor, who grew up in Tamaqua, Pa. "Now, two months later, I find myself attached to the Asian nation. This next year will be full of new experiences as I fully adapt to living in a foreign country."
Taylor is excited about the challenges of his new position as well as the responsibilities of going to work every day. He has postponed some post-internship sightseeing plans, but anticipates the things that will take their place.
"I have to focus on some priorities, topping that list with learning the language," he said. "Also, I have to do is find a big enough apartment to house all the friends from home who say they'll be visiting."
As he did during his internship, Taylor plans to maintain a blog about living and working in the most populated nation in the world during the next 12 months.