April in Houston brought mild weather, gentle breezes, and bright spring sunshine. With greetings and best wishes from RUC alumni across North America, RUC-NAAA held its first in-person event since the onset of the pandemic on April 24 at the InterContinental Houston, Downtown. The event marked the establishment of the RUC-NAAA Houston Chapter and brought together local alumni, members of the Chinese community, and guests from academic and other circles for a lively gathering. Nearly 50 alumni and guests attended.
With its distinctive advantages in geography, population, society, and law, the U.S. South has become one of the fastest-growing and most innovative regions in the country. It is also home to many outstanding RUC alumni, who have built successful careers across a wide range of industries and fields.
RUC alumni in the southern United States have long sought opportunities to connect, support one another, and grow together. Yet for many years, there had been no permanent regional alumni organization to meet these needs. The Houston Chapter is the first standardized and institutionalized RUC alumni organization in the U.S. Southwest, and the second directly affiliated chapter established by RUC-NAAA.
RUC-NAAA Chair Li Deshun delivered the opening remarks. On behalf of the Board of Directors and management team, he warmly welcomed the guests, alumni, and family members in attendance and thanked the alumni who had worked tirelessly to organize and prepare for the event.
He introduced the work RUC-NAAA has undertaken since its establishment in connecting alumni, expanding its network, and serving society, with particular emphasis on the efforts made to address alumni’s practical difficulties during the pandemic.
He called on alumni to actively participate in alumni association activities and work together to build a strong Houston Chapter. He pledged that RUC-NAAA would continue to work hard to live up to the expectations of alumni and the broader community and to build a trustworthy and dependable extended family where every participating alumnus could truly experience the meaning of the words:
“Even if I have nothing, I still have RUC alumni.”
Dawson Lee
RUC-NAAA Vice Chairwoman and President Wu Yafeng gave guests and alumni a brief overview of the association’s development in legalization, standardization, and institutionalization, as well as the recognition it has received from various sectors of society.
He particularly highlighted RUC-NAAA’s collaboration with The Carter Center in 2018, with strong support from the Atlanta Chapter, to jointly commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of U.S.-China diplomatic relations. The event not only received widespread praise, but also earned high recognition from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter for RUC-NAAA, Renmin University of China, Chinese education, and China’s development achievements.
On behalf of the RUC-NAAA Board of Directors, Wu Yafeng read the official decision establishing the Houston Chapter and announced the appointments of its leadership team. Gu Ying, a member of the 1987 cohort, was appointed Chapter President; Leng Shuang, a member of the 2006 cohort, was appointed Vice President; and Nie Jianyi, a member of the 2012 cohort, was appointed Secretary-General.
Wu Yafeng
Dawson Lee, Wu Yafeng, RUC-NAAA Vice Chairwoman Liu Jing, and former RUC-NAAA Chair Yue Jingsheng jointly presented the official flag to the Houston Chapter.
Gu Ying, Leng Shuang, Nie Jianyi, and Xiao Xiao accepted the flag on behalf of the Houston Chapter.
From left: Yue Jingsheng, Liu Jing, Leng Shuang, Gu Ying, Nie Jianyi, Xiao Xiao, Dawson Lee, Wu Yafeng
Gu Ying, the inaugural President of the Houston Chapter, spoke on behalf of the chapter’s management team.
She expressed her gratitude to the RUC-NAAA Board of Directors and the broader Houston alumni community for their trust. She pledged to live up to that trust, continue working with dedication, unite and serve alumni, and remain rooted in the alumni community and responsive to its needs.
She said she hoped to build the Houston Chapter into a true “Alumni Home” for RUC alumni in the U.S. Southwest.
Gu Ying
The establishment of the Houston Chapter received strong attention and support from Houston’s Chinese community and elected officials.
Yang Deqing, Executive Director of the Chinese Community Center; Zhang Jingjing, Chinese Community Liaison for U.S. Congressman Troy Nehls; Wu Yuanzhi, a Texas State Representative; Tan Qiuhua, a Stafford City Council Member in the Houston area; and Zhou Haoen, a candidate for Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 4, delivered remarks in succession.
They paid tribute to Renmin University’s achievements in education and expressed their appreciation for the appeal, cohesion, and sense of action demonstrated by RUC alumni.
They called on RUC alumni and the broader Chinese American community to become more actively engaged in civic and political affairs, voice the concerns of the Chinese community, and take concrete action to ensure that U.S. political policies better reflect the interests of Chinese Americans.
In order: Yang Deqing, Wu Yuanzhi, Zhou Haoen, Zhang Jingjing, Tan Qiuhua
From the very beginning, RUC-NAAA has embraced the mission of building a “learning-oriented” alumni association. Its flagship Mingde Forum has been held for seven consecutive years and has developed into a well-known and influential forum brand among RUC alumni.
In addition, RUC-NAAA organizes numerous online and in-person salons and seminars every year, covering a broad range of topics including economics, finance, technology, education, employment, and everyday life. These programs have been warmly received by alumni.
The Houston Chapter carried on this tradition by organizing a series of professional presentations during the second half of its inaugural event.
Dawson Lee was the first speaker to share insights from more than 30 years of entrepreneurship in Canada and the United States.
He recounted his journey of arriving in North America with just $50, overcoming challenges including basic survival and the language barrier, and going through multiple entrepreneurial ventures and career transformations. Today, he has acquired and manages thousands of rental apartment units across four U.S. states and has successfully expanded his investment management portfolio from Class B/C properties to the full range of multifamily assets, including high-end Class A properties.
Encouraging younger alumni, he said: “Your starting point today is much higher than mine was back then, and your circumstances are far better than what I had. As long as you are good at recognizing opportunities, do not back down when you encounter difficulties, and keep moving forward, you too can build a successful career of your own!”
He also reminded alumni that whenever they encounter difficulties, they should remember that they have the RUC alumni community behind them.
His extraordinary life story captivated the audience, while his encouragement and inspiration left the alumni deeply moved and energized.
Zhang Shuoyang, a professor at the Cameron School of Business at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, is a prominent technology entrepreneur and venture capital expert, as well as a founding partner of the well-known venture capital platform Born Global Ventures.
Drawing on extensive data and a wealth of real-world cases, she delivered an energetic presentation highlighting the contributions immigrants have made to innovation and entrepreneurship in the United States and called on everyone to actively participate in the wave of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Zhang Shuoyang
RUC alumnus Qin Xiaodong is an audit partner and managing partner at accounting firm MaloneBailey LLP, with extensive professional experience.
Drawing on his own experiences of navigating and advancing in his career, he shared practical advice on breaking through the so-called “glass ceiling” in the workplace. His recommendations included strengthening professional skills, developing specialized technical expertise, speaking up and expressing oneself with confidence, building a professional network as early as possible, stepping outside one’s comfort zone, and establishing a strong personal brand.
Qin Xiaodong
Finally, RUC-NAAA Vice Chairwoman Liu Jing delivered the closing remarks.
She said that although her visit to Houston had lasted only two short days, she had been deeply touched by the warmth and simplicity of the people of Texas, Houston’s pleasant climate, the strong bonds among alumni, and the wealth of insights and connections gained from the event.
She said she looked forward to seeing alumni continue to share resources, help and learn from one another, and make progress together through the platform of the Houston Chapter and RUC-NAAA as a whole.
Liu Jing
Also invited to attend the event were leaders and representatives of the Houston-area alumni associations of Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University, Sun Yat-sen University, University of Science and Technology of China, Southeast University, and other Chinese universities.
Local Chinese-language media in Houston also attended the event and conducted on-site interviews and coverage.
Organizing Team
The organizing team for the event included Wu Yafeng, Gu Ying, Leng Shuang, Nie Jianyi, Xiao Xiao, Feng Xuejiao, and Ren Ruijing.
Special thanks go to alumni family-member volunteers Sun Ruoran (Rachel Sun), Zhang Siwei (Adelaide Clemence), Chen Wenhao (Jason Chen), and the adorable Chen Ziyue (Alison Chen) for their valuable contributions!
