Danielle Gershowitz, C'07

After graduating from Penn with a degree in English and several summer internships in finance, Danielle Gershowitz was unsure what to do next. So she chose to go to China.

Danielle moved to Shanghai to teach kindergarten and study Mandarin in August 2007. She initially planned to stay for eight months before returning home to apply to graduate school. One afternoon between classes she got a call from her Chinese tutor who knew of a company looking for a native English speaker with some business and financial experience. Although she at first thought it was a one-time opportunity, by the time Danielle realized it was an interview for a full-time position, she had already committed to visit the company.

“I just couldn't turn down this opportunity.”

"I just couldn't turn down this opportunity," she says of her motivation to take the job and extend her stint in Shanghai. Danielle started as a business analyst for CDC Games, a China-based global online game operator specializing in massive multiplayer online (MMO) games in February 2008. As the only foreigner in an office with over three hundred native Chinese employees, she was responsible for assisting the COO research new business opportunities, prepare investor relations materials for overseas offices and handle "all things related to English." Her job included PowerPoint presentations, meetings with CEOs, and weekly English training for her Chinese colleagues.

Then in June as the company prepared to expand in the Middle East, Danielle was asked to serve as a project manager to coordinate between the Shanghai office and the company's new partner based in Dubai. In addition to her previous responsibilities, she now also drafts business plans, serves as a contact point between Shanghai and Dubai, and oversees the project in Shanghai.

"I never imagined that I would be in this situation. Moving to China was the last thing I ever thought I would do until I actually got here, but it's turned out to be such a great choice to come here."

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Class of 2007