Exchange Magazine, Fall 2003 - Duke University's Fuqua School of ...

NEWS
8 FUQUA EXCHANGE
The Fuqua School of Business
From Building Bikes to Building Futures
STUDENTS HELPING STUDENTS AT THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
Chris Ringlstetter came to China as a member of The Duke MBA–Global
Executive class of 2003 for an intensive study of global marketing, economics
and finance. He left two weeks later as an educational benefactor for a class
of children.
While on the Asian residency in February 2003, Ringlstetter, an executive
with Ingersoll-Rand in Italy, and his Global Executive colleagues created an
education fund for a group of children they met during a team-building exercise
on the Great Wall of China.
Team-Building on Wheels
Every Global Executive class has a two-week residency in Asia, where students
combine intense classroom learning with company site visits, guest speakers
and team-building exercises.
For the Global Executive classes that have studied in Beijing, a memorable
cultural, team-building exercise has been the side trip to the Great Wall of
China, where the executive students, equipped with ropes and harnesses, work
in teams to repel down the side of the world famous landmark. This year, the
Global Executive administrative staff added an additional team-building activity
on the wall. This activity included assembling 20 bicycles with a group of
local children from the He Deng Hao school. The Global Executive program
would then donate the finished bicycles to the children.
Quick Thinking
During the bicycle building activity, Ringlstetter became interested in the children
and wanted to learn other ways the Global Executive class might be able
to help them. In his investigation, he discovered the heartbreaking fact that
financial hardships would soon cause many of the children to drop out of
school and discontinue their education. Since the Global Executive students
were bound for a busy week of study in Hong Kong, followed by a return to
their homes across the globe, Ringlstetter knew he had to act fast if he wanted
to help these kids.
Ringlstetter and fellow students Heidi Miller and Evandro Reis spoke to the
rest of their class and decided to establish the Duke-Great Wall Education
Fund. This meant taking time out of their full schedules to organize the program
and taking money out of their own pockets to fund it. The entire Global
Executive class contributed, and by the end of the residency the fund reached
its goal of $2,500.
Team Fuqua
From the initial bicycle donation to Chris Ringlstetter’s organizational initiative
to the generosity of the class as a whole, the team-building activities of the 2003
Global Executive residency in Asia did a lot more than just strengthen the bonds
of the student teams. It gave a group of executives the unforgettable experience of
brightening the lives of a less privileged, but no less deserving, group of students.
The hard work and the charitable actions of the Global Executive students
and staff are the embodiment of Fuqua’s pledge to “Educate Thoughtful
Business Leaders Worldwide.” Fuqua is proud to be represented by the Global
Executive class of 2003.