Two ‘outstanding’ WWU grads from Gig Harbor both have their eyes on China

Emmalene Madsen and Shapei Baker met as students at Gig Harbor High School. In June, the pair graduated from Western Washington University, both earning the accolade of Outstanding Graduate, an award given to one student from each department every year.

Now, Madsen and Baker are both preparing to start careers in Asia — Madsen in international education and Baker in international business.

For both young women, the journey began at Gig Harbor High School.

“I was really interested in art, and the characters and how they themselves are like pictures initially really drew me to the language,” Madsen said of her decision to study Chinese in high school. She graduated from Gig Harbor High School in 2017 and enrolled at WWU, where she got a degree in East Asian studies and Chinese language.

Baker, whose WWU degree is in Chinese language and international business, has felt a connection with China from the beginning. She was adopted from China as a 10-month-old.

“Growing up knowing that I was adopted from China and I was Chinese, I always wanted to learn Chinese just to connect me back to where I was born,” Baker said. Like Madsen, she began learning Chinese at Gig Harbor High School.

By the time she graduated high school in 2016, Baker knew she wanted to continue studying Chinese. After spending one year at Tacoma Community College, she chose WWU based on the strength of its Chinese program. While earning her degree in Chinese language, Baker decided to add an international business degree to broaden her job options.

“I also minored in Japanese and economics,” she said. Baker says wants to travel to Japan as well as China. She hasn’t yet returned to China since she left as a baby.

Madsen, however, got the opportunity to visit China through a study abroad program.

In the summer of 2018, she spent three months living in Beijing. She says living abroad helped her understand the nuances of Chinese culture that are simplified in the media.

“People cannot understand that unless they go and physically live somewhere,” she said. She says it’s important to immerse yourself in a culture to gain a deeper understanding of a country and its people. Her interest in cultural exchange and international education began at WWU.

“I worked as a peer advisor in the study abroad office at Western and that really facilitated this passion for international education,” Madsen said.

“That term, international education, is fairly broad,” Madsen added. She’s not sure exactly what she wants to do, but she has a job lined up teaching English in a Montessori kindergarten in Chongqing, located in central China.

But because of the coronavirus pandemic, those plans are on hold. “I really don’t know when I’ll actually be able to go,” she said. She hopes she’ll be able to move in February 2021.

As for Baker’s future plans, she’s starting WWU’s MBA program this fall. She’s not sure yet what kind of company she’d like to work for after she graduates. “I’m keeping my options so open,” she said. She does know that she wants her career to include Asian markets.

Baker worked on a project about China’s dairy market at WWU and was surprised by how captivating she found it. She said she has a feeling her interests will expand as she learns more about different industries and how they operate in Asia.

“It could be technology, it could be cars, it could be really anything,” Baker said. “I feel like I’m very open and just interested to see where I end up.”

Miriam Francisco is a summer intern reporter. Reach her at miriam.francisco@thenewstribune.com.com

This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 9:00 PM.