Terry College of Business - Fall 2008 - (Page 49) terr ymemo Department of Insurance, Legal Studies and Real Estate By Matt Waldman (AB ’96) dopting a child from China involves voluminous paperwork, the flexibility to travel at a moment’s notice, and having more cash in hand than most Americans feel comfortable carrying overseas. But for those parents who succeed in getting a child through the international adoption process, those challenges are merely a prelude to the long-term acclimation process that adopted children face with their new families in the U.S. “You can’t look at my son and know immediately that he’s adopted,” says Dorothy Boothe (BS ’83, MS ’85, PhD ’91) of her domestically adopted son Luke. “Whereas, you see my daughter Christina and you know she’s an adopted child. There are issues for parents that have adopted trans-racially and trans-culturally, and you have to be aware of those things to help a child grow up and function in today’s society. We try to instill in Christina the pride that she’s from China, but she’s also an American citizen — she’s both.” Ping Ma understands the adjustments that 8-year-old Christina Boothe is having to make in order to adapt to the differences between Asian and American culture. Unlike her American classmates, Ma grew up in Beijing. She takes classes in a second language she didn’t grow up with. And like other international students, who comprise four percent of Terry’s undergraduate enrollment, Ma has to master that second language while living and working in a new culture with customs she must absorb on the fly. “The way you talk, the way you dress, the food you eat, even the way you make jokes . . . it’s hard to explain to people” how different American culture is from China, says Ma, a senior risk managementinsurance major who is lending a helping hand to children like Christina as president of the Asian Children Mentor Program. Her efforts recently earned ACMP a Student Organization Achievement & Recognition Award in just its second year of operation. “She has done a wonderful job,” says Boothe, who helped start ACMP in 2006 and who serves as its advisor. According to Boothe, ACMP really took off after Ping Ma became president in 2007. “It’s basically been under Ping’s leadership that this organization has done so much.” Ma began her term by calling each family to determine its needs. Families then reapplied under a more stringent membership process to insure the best match between mentors and children. A licensed social worker was brought in to conduct a training seminar for mentors. To maximize the organization’s effectiveness, Ma told the officers, “Our goal is not to think about getting big, but to serve the parents we have.” The changes Ma brought about generated instant success. One highlight was an adoption panel, which featured seven adults discussing their experiences growing up as trans-racial adoptees. “Most of the parents say it was one of the best programs they ever attended,” says Boothe. Terry professor Marisa Pagnattaro says her adopted daughter, Terry College oF Helping Asian children cope in America A Business cHriS taylOr Ping Ma (shown here with her 14-year-old mentee, Andrew Tang) took steps to maximize the effectiveness of UGA’s Asian Children’s Mentor Program by creating an adoption panel and bringing in a licensed social worker to train mentors. 4-year-old Sophia Ying-Mei, cherishes the time she spends with her ACMP mentors. “Sophia loves to look at photos taken with them,” says Pagnattaro. “I know from my conversation with other parents that this kind of special, one-on-one activity is leaving a lasting impression for entire families who want to know more about how we can celebrate our children’s Asian heritage.” Ma’s mentee is 14-year-old Andrew Tang, an adoptee from Shanghai. “I tutor him a lot on his school work and we spend time watching movies,” says Ma, who says other mentors teach parents about Asian culture and how to prepare foods native to their child’s country of origin. “A lot of parents are very interested in Asian culture,” she says. “They ask a lot of questions, and sometimes we even have to go back and do research for answers because we’re not sure.” For Ma, who just completed a summer internship in Philadelphia with Wachovia and wants to work for an international firm upon graduation, the experience has been amazing. “I’m proud of myself for being able to go to another country, speak another language — and do things for people, no matter where they’re from.” ■ Fall 2008 • 49
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