Defending My Thesis

by Ashley Cheung, VPG Principal & Founder, Illustrated by Stephanie Grover

As I’ve been looking forward to celebrating five years of Virtual Patent Gateway and thinking about what the future will bring for me, my company and those who are with me on my journey, I find myself also thinking of all the steps that brought me here. One experience that shaped much of how I lead my own company came at the end of my academic career.

The last step towards earning my master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in East Asian Languages & Cultures and Political Science was to defend a 219-page thesis on An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Sino-U.S. Negotiation Styles in front of a committee of highly esteemed professors. Anyone who has had to go through this process surely can relate when I say it was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life. This product that I had worked so hard to research, write, revise, and rewrite for the past 6 months years was my baby, and now it served as a key that would open the door to the rest of my career, but only if the committee deemed it worthy enough.

The committee reviewing my thesis consisted of professors from various disciplines – business law, history, East Asian languages and cultures, political science, and communication studies. My thesis advisor was Terry, a Princeton-trained historian who was a true professor in every sense of the word – critical, yet constructive with his vast understanding of history and ever ready to share an obscure fact that always amazed me. Then there was Clyde, a Harvard law graduate who taught business classes and served as a secondary advisor, mentor, and friend as I worked through my thesis.

Clyde served as a welcomed support system while my thesis took shape over the course of those 6 months. We maintained a close advisor-advisee relationship through emails and phone calls, even while he was away serving as a fellow at another university. I’d send him drafts, ask questions, and pose ideas and his responses were always enlightening, challenging, and reassuring.

As my thesis defense date approached, I grew increasingly nervous and started to have doubts that what I had spent my entire education working towards wasn’t going to be good enough for the committee. A week prior to the defense, Terry red-inked at least 80% of my draft thesis. I made an appointment and asked Terry if I should reschedule my defense. Terry was puzzled, “Why would you say that?” My response was, “There’s so much red ink here and I did not want to have Clyde pay to come to see me fail.” Terry interrupted me, “your thesis was very good, and you should defend as scheduled.” With that reassurance, I proceeded as planned. The afternoon before my defense, Clyde flew from New York to Lawrence Kansas, on his own dime, to calm my nerves, talk through my thesis with me, and be there as a supportive friend, who would soon serve on the very committee reviewing my work. He told me to take the night off from work, relax, and get some sleep. Of course, I couldn’t sleep that night, as I was chockfull of all sorts of emotions – nervousness, self-consciousness, doubt, excitement, and everything in between.

In the morning, the nerves were still there, as expected. I got up at 5 a.m. to review the literature, again and again, to grasp at any reassurance that I indeed knew my stuff. Even though the defense was scheduled for 10 a.m., I was sitting right outside the room by 8:30 a.m. I wasn’t going to be late for perhaps the most important meeting of my life. I sat there, continuing to review, repeatedly, when I heard, “Good morning, Ashley! I knew you’d be here!” It was Clyde. He knew. He knew how nervous I would be and took the time out of his day to get there early and started engaging me in a discussion of the literature and later I realized that he “prepped” me for my oral defense, and it worked. He gave me exactly what I needed to go in there and defend my thesis with conviction, poise, and a quiet confidence.

When I left the room for the committee to deliberate, I let out an audible sigh of relief that I’m sure the entire campus could hear. That was it. I was done. It was out of my hands now. And while a weight was lifted off my shoulders, I still felt weighed down by the sense of unknowing what the committee would decide. I waited and waited for what seemed like hours outside that door.

When I heard the jiggle of the door and the soft creak of the door open, I tried my best to pull myself together to walk back into the room to hear the verdict that could change the course of my entire career.

Terry, Clyde, and two other committee members all had expressionless faces when I entered, but as soon as I sat down, they all cracked smiles and said “Congratulations Ashley! You passed!” The sense of relief was overwhelming – I did it. Not only did I pass, but they also reassured me of my “original” thinking, always going above and beyond attitude. I later learned that I got an “A-” for my thesis, not bad!

Terry told me that, considering Clyde played such a prominent role in advising and preparing me for the defense, it seemed only fitting that they switch roles on the committee. So, Clyde, my friend, mentor, and greatest supporter, chaired my thesis review. And that meant more to me than I can ever express.

Micro Learning Moment: Western cultures tend to equate people with outgoing and social skills with likability and charisma, while Eastern cultures tend to want to take an “observe” and a “wait and see” approach before sharing, at least stereotypically when comparing with traditional cultural and social norms. To foster growth in intercultural communication, it is critical to be open-minded about other people’s experiences. For example, if someone is particularly quiet, try to engage them in conversations and learn about their experiences. There are many layers to a person, just like peeling an onion, you may be surprised to learn how we can help each other if we take a chance to believe in someone.