The last thing Devin West expected to see in Beijing was high school students going to class seven days a week.
"That is something I don't think I'd ever get used to. But I see why. Kids don't think about school as they should," said West, 16, of the North Side, one of 10 black high school students from Pittsburgh who traveled to Beijing for two weeks to learn about the global marketplace.
The trip was part of a new initiative of Urban Youth Action, one of the nation's oldest work force development programs for high school students. It was coordinated with the help of companies and institutions here with a global presence — the Alcoa Foundation, K&L Gates, PPG Industries Foundation, The Pittsburgh Project, University of Pittsburgh and Westinghouse Electric Co.
Several students and Karris Jackson, CEO of Urban Youth Action, spoke with the Tribune-Review from Beijing last week before returning home Wednesday night. Although they prepared for the trip with five months of language tutorials and cultural studies at the Global Studies Program and the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh, for 10 kids from Pittsburgh, a dose of culture shock was inevitable.
"We thought more people would speak English," said Jackson, one of five adult chaperones. "Everywhere we go, (the Chinese) want to take our pictures. They don't see a lot of black kids here."
The magnitude of their visit quickly took hold, Jackson said.
"We were standing on the Great Wall and someone said: 'We're standing on one of the seven wonders of the (medieval) world you read about in history books. You don't go there.' "
Even as they appreciated China's rich history, the students learned how the communist country is changing.
Beijing, for example, a city of 17 million people, is trying to find ways to go "green," said Emmanuel Hanns, 15, of Mt. Lebanon. A large number of residents ride bicycles despite the increased availability and affordability of vehicles.
"People are concerned about the environment. Villages are trying to go green with solar energy," he said.
Alcoa arranged for the group to visit Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of its academic partners for the Alcoa Foundation Conservation & Sustainability Fellowship Program, a global program focused on research in the field of conservation and sustainability. PPG Industries Foundation provided additional international exposure.
"This project helps demonstrate PPG's commitment to global corporate responsibility, as it gives young students in our hometown community an opportunity to learn about cross-culture business," said Sue Sloan, executive director of the foundation.
West, who plans to be an architect, said the trip showed "that the United States is not the only place. This is a big world."
Half the students who made the trip are members of Leaders-In-Training, a job-training and college preparatory program run by The Pittsburgh Project, a community development organization that works to develop leaders among Pittsburgh-area students.
"Research shows that black kids don't have much opportunity in a global economy. They don't have any experience," Jackson said.
The trip opened their eyes to the future, she said.
"Global companies — this is the job market," Jackson said.
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