Scholar Spotlight - Jiale Tian

Laidlaw Scholar Jiale Tian on overcoming poverty, defying expectations and investing in education.
Scholar Spotlight - Jiale Tian
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Jiale Tian, a Laidlaw Scholar at London Business School, on overcoming poverty, defying expectations and investing in education.

I grew up in a small village in the Hebi county of Henan province, the poorest province in China. I was abandoned by my father at birth because of the patriarchal culture of our society. So, my mother had to raise me alone.

My relatives think that a woman could only be entitled to be supported by her husband if she had enough sons and worked all her life as a housewife. But my mother borrowed money to pay for my first-year tuition at the university while I started working as a part-time primary school teacher to pay for my tuition. When I worked in primary school to pay for my tuition fee, I had the idea of using the power of capital to improve education and change the fate of the poor and women. Because I found that there were too many poor students here who did not dare to hope that they could continue their studies, and even the girls hypnotised themselves that it would cost too much money to change their fate through studies and that it would be better to ease the financial burden of their families by marrying a good man to change their fate. 

Afterwards, I got internship opportunities from Bytedance, specializing in education analysis from an investor’s perspective. I have discovered ways and examples of how capital can change education - Bridges International College. The knowledge acquired at LBS can help me comprehend the core advantages of BIC, which can become profitable on the basis of a uniform and efficient management model with only $6 tuition fees, to create better and more sustainable institutions to improve the education system with business power. 

Without the Laidlaw Scholarship Fund, I won’t be able to afford to study at LBS. I want to deepen my understanding of the education industry by joining an education group such as BIC to do strategic consulting. The Laidlaw Scholarship is designed for female leaders, and my career dream is to enrich myself to change the fate of poor women. 

 

What is the biggest life challenge you overcame, and what did you learn from it?

I think it was the financial difficulties during my childhood.

I remember my mother working many odd jobs, and her salary was only 500 RMB a month (less than £70) when I was a kid. After school, I had to walk 2 hours to different factories to look for my mother in the pile of machines, and at night I would lie down next to the rumbling machines to sleep. We couldn’t even afford the yoghurt and the bedtime storybooks. So at that time, I felt very inferior because of my poverty. My mother coaxed me that the illustrated instructions in English on the machines were the most expensive bedtime stories, and only I was lucky enough to read them, so I read them and listened obediently to the deafening sound of the machines every day.

When I was six, I entered a speech contest with my mother in factories. Thanks to my “bedtime story”, I presented successfully in English how all the machines in the factory operated, and we won first place in the contest. The prize was a carton of yoghurt, which I hadn’t seen before. I couldn't resist drinking 10 bottles of yoghurt that night, causing me to throw up and have diarrhoea. The next day, my mother told me, "If you study hard, you will have endless yoghurt in the future, despite being a girl." Suddenly, I understood that education could change destiny, and I wanted to study, earning endless yoghurt for the rest of our lives. Poverty is never a reason to stop us from being able to change our destiny and change the world.

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

What does not kill you makes you stronger. When I was faced up with difficulties and failure, my mom told me this sentence. It makes me feel like failure and challenge are the gifts of God, and I’m so lucky. Just like when I was 6, my mother coaxed me that the illustrated instructions in English on the machines were the most expensive bedtime stories, and only I was lucky enough to read them. Afterwards, I won a bunch of yoghurt by giving an English speech in the factory. Even though I was poor, I had the ability to learn English by myself and win the yoghurt! Money is the last factor of success.

What is the worst piece of advice you have been given?

Everything is doomed. I hate that somebody told me this one. It just makes me feel disappointed and that all my efforts are pointless. But it’s not true, and every experience, whether successful or not, is a unique treasure of our lives. So come on. You can change something beyond your expectations, and don’t give up!

Top 3 tips that will help someone become a better leader

⚡️ Be confident - Confidence is really important for a woman. In China, parents are used to educating girls with discouraging words like; If you do not succeed in doing this, you will make us disappointed so it's easy for girls to fall into self-doubt. But a good leader is always confident and believes that he/she can achieve every goal. Faced with failure and difficulties, a  good leader never gives up unless he/she finds a better way to succeed.

⚡️ Be patient - Sometimes, the realization of good things is usually preceded by rough goings. Success cannot be achieved overnight. By not being impatient, by being patient and by staying curious to explore new things and new areas, you are on your way to becoming a better version of yourself. Take your time, and don't rush. Life will eventually have all the answers for you.

⚡️Be considerate and possess a strong capacity for empathy - The German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz said, "There are no two leaves in the world that are exactly the same." Likewise, there are no two people in the world who are exactly the same, as each person is unique due to differences in family, education, personality and various experiences. We need to understand each other, to think differently, and we will find that everyone is sincere.

Which leaders in the world inspire you the most and why?

I love Maye Musk’s courage, determination, persistence and intelligence. She became a single mother at the age of 31, also raised all three of her children to be billionaires, and appeared naked on the cover twice at the age of 63 and 69... all these things that sound unbelievable are real for her. I also have a lot of respect for Michelle Obama’s honesty and tact. Also, I really admire Margaret Thatcher. Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.

What does it mean for you to be a Laidlaw Scholar?

Firstly, it means I have the opportunity to improve my leadership and achieve my career goals. In the short term, I could deepen my understanding of the education industry by joining an education group such as BIC to do strategic consulting. In the long run, after accumulating enough theoretical knowledge and practical experience, I can return to Henan province in China to set up education enterprises to help more local poor students (especially female students) to change their destiny and leave the grip of men by pursuing higher education and to jointly enhance the resource use efficiency of the domestic education industry.

Secondly, it means I have the responsibility to encourage the education of women in the world and to fight for the equality of women. Just like BIC, which provided a lot of poor students in the mid-east region and Africa with sufficient educational resources such as teachers and textbooks, I also plan to set up education enterprises to help female students in the developing region of the world to have more opportunities for education. 

Lastly, I can share my stories with more people to inspire them that if I can continue my study and go deeper with my dream even with so many difficulties, then so can they. You should never let poverty make you feel inferior or even lose the courage to follow your dreams.

Briefly describe a scene from the future you are striving to create.

We can use the power of capital to improve education and change the fate of the poor and women. More and more poor students (especially female students) have the courage to change their destiny and leave the grip of men by pursuing higher education.  I really want to help women to live a free life, and I am striving to give them more power and opportunities to make their decisions and continue their studies.


Quick-Fire Questions

📺 Currently watching: Forrest Gump

📚 My top book recommendation: Utopia by Thomas More

🌈 Something that made me feel joy recently: Coming to London.


Jiale is a Laidlaw Scholar at London Business School. The Laidlaw Women's Business Education Scholarship aims to help build a pipeline of future women leaders through access to best-in-class education, resources and global networks by providing full and half scholarships to women who would not otherwise be in a position to reap the benefits of attending an outstanding school. 
 


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⚡️ Xuerui Yin on overcoming societal norms, creating opportunities for underrepresented groups, and working with compassion.

⚡️ Paseka Khosa on overcoming financial hardship and advocating for unwavering belief in oneself.

⚡️ Fisayo Adeleke on her mission to increase women's access to opportunities, and dealing with uncertainty.

⚡️ Helena Couto on breaking out of your pre-defined place in society, and larger than life goals.

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Go to the profile of Youness Robert-Tahiri
11 months ago

This is extremely inspiring. Thank you for sharing, Jiale.