“朝陽區國際化程度高，外國創業者不必擔心文化沖擊問題”—專訪賓夕法尼亞大學北京校友會主席Loretta Evans

記者_周曉琪 編輯_胡是非 攝影_白舒元 設計_孫星

“朝陽區國際化程度高，外國創業者不必擔心文化沖擊問題”—專訪賓夕法尼亞大學北京校友會主席Loretta Evans

記者_周曉琪 編輯_胡是非 攝影_白舒元 設計_孫星

在北京居住已有11年的賓大北京校友會主席Ms. Loretta Evans認為，朝陽區不僅地理位置好，而且國際化程度非常高。在她看來，這對于中國創業者和國外的創業者都是非常有吸引力的一大優勢。

拎客

Loretta Evans

The current president of the Penn Club of Beijing. President Loretta was born in Philadelphia. She holds an ExMSE degree from the School of Engineering and Applied Science. After leaving Penn， she obtained a Doctor of Science degree in Engineering Management at The George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science in Washington， DC. In 2005，she moved to Beijing. She previously was Webmaster for the Penn Club of Beijing's website until Penn's Alumni Relations took over. Loretta currently has her own business， Cycletime China which focuses on consulting， software development and geophysical technical services.

A brief introduction of the Penn Club of Beijing

The Penn Club of Beijing operates based on by-laws enacted in 2009. In 1997， the Club was started by the previous president with a list of Beijing alumni provided from Penn. The Penn Club is one of the most active alumni associations in Beijing with typically several events each month for alumni. The Penn Club of Beijing currently has several high energy club officers and have meetings to plan out our schedule of evens and activities.

賓夕法尼亞大學（下文簡稱：賓大）沃頓中國中心位于北京市朝陽區環球金融中心。中心成立于2015年3月，創辦初衷是為賓大教授、學生、在華校友和各界友人提供繼續學習、研究資源和交流平臺。近日，在賓大沃頓中國中心的辦公區內，《留學》對賓大北京校友會主席Ms. Loretta Evans進行了專訪，邀請她與我們分享了一個外國創業者在中國的經歷和感悟。

Loretta畢業于賓大工程和應用科學系，后獲得喬治·華盛頓大學工程管理和科學博士學位。2005年，Loretta來到北京，到現在已有11年了。談到對北京這座城市的印象時，Loretta表示，自己非常喜歡這座城市，并且打算在北京長久居住下去，在這里繼續發展自己的事業。“北京是一座很完美的城市，特別是我居住的朝陽區，不僅地理位置好，而且國際化程度非常高。我認為，這對于中國創業者和國外的創業者都是非常有吸引力的一大優勢。”Loretta對《留學》記者說。

除了擔任賓大北京校友會的主席，Loretta還擁有自己的公司，主要提供有關軟件開發和地球物理技術相關的咨詢與業務。很多國外創業者來到中國，首先擔心的問題就是遇到文化沖擊（Culture shock）。但當《留學》與Loretta探討相關的話題時，Loretta卻表現得樂觀而從容。她認為，無論在哪里，創業者都要面臨困難，有時甚至會陷入困境。這就像參與冒險游戲一樣，不可避免。但是，創業者首先需要自己變得更強大，才能察覺到別人沒有意識到的問題，從而走出困境。創業成功需要多方面的支持，包括抓住良好的機遇、在合適的地點和正確的人合作，當然還有勤奮地工作，等等。在Loretta看來，她所在的北京市朝陽區就是一片創業者的樂土。這里集中了眾多高端的商業資源，還有來自朝陽區政府對海歸人才和國外創業者提供的大力支持及援助。Loretta舉出一個例子，“如果我邀請我的美國朋友來到朝陽區，他們不會感覺到太多文化沖擊，因為這里有很多的國際化飯店，我們能品嘗到美國菜、歐洲菜，當然還有北京菜。這讓我的朋友覺得自己好像在家鄉一樣，距離感拉近很多。”

Loretta Evans不僅是賓大北京校友會主席，而且在中國有自己創辦的公司。

“當我第一次聽說OTEC時，就很想參與進來”

Loretta告訴《留學》，不忙的時候，她喜歡閱讀，學習中文和結識新朋友。在中國多年，Loretta在逐漸適應中國生活的同時，感覺自己真的愛上了這里的一切。自信、開朗而富有激情的性格幫助Loretta結交了很多的中國朋友和商業伙伴，在需要時給予她幫助和建議，Loretta認為這也是她在中國開展事業的一大法寶。

Loretta不僅樂于結識中國朋友，也非常熱衷于參與各種創業活動。記者了解到，Loretta的公司于去年參加了OTEC。Loretta表示，能參與OTEC是一種榮耀。通過這個高端平臺，可以認識更多來自不同群體、組織的商業人才、優秀企業家，為彼此合作提供了機遇。“我和新認識的朋友會互相攀談，詢問彼此的生意近況。OTEC是一個非常新穎，有創新精神的活動。參與其中真的讓我收獲良多，讓我的企業獲益良多。”

Q=Studying Abroad

A=Loretta Evans

Q: In your opinion， what influence or effects did your business bring to China？

A: Well， we have brought foreign technology and foreign experts to China；this allows experts from different countries to solve problems together from different perspectives. For example， I will have my American business partner， Mr. Chuck Diggins， come to China and he is one of the top experts in Geophysics. In all， I think different people stand for different things， it is great.

Q: What suggestions would you like to give for those who wants to start business in China as a foreigner like you？

A: That is a good question. When you come to China to start a business， you have to be aware of a lot of things. I think you should realize that starting a business is hard， no matter where you are. Some people get lucky， some people have resources. But you still need to try to be smart. Doing business well often means getting opportunities， being in the right place， working hard as well as meeting the right people. You have to be strong because doing business is like an adventure sometimes. And you need to learn to adapt to the environment. That is very important when you want to do business in China.

Q: Do you like to live in Beijing？

A: Yes， I really do. I know Beijing and I like Beijing. This is a wonderful city. I always wanted to live in a city. But in America， cities are maybe expensive， even dangerous. The suburbs are quiet， very nice. But I always wanted to live in a city. There are so many things to do and it is big and safe. My mother and sister also came here many years ago. They all like China. They visited Suzhou before they came to Shanghai. Suzhou is cold when winter comes. When we visited in Sanya， we loved the beech， and the sunshine was wonderful. My mother loves all three. She loves Beijing so much. She was so happy and it was a great time.

（實習記者喬麗娟對此文亦有貢獻）