Yang (left) and Shoresman (right) first met in the late 1980s and their friendship has spanned decades and continents.

One professor’s kindness turned into a generous gift to the College of Education that will benefit great numbers of students.

The College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the recipient of a generous gift from Qiumei Yang, M.S. ’92 BUS, Ph.D. ’96 BUS.

The Michele I. Shoresman Study Abroad Scholarship Fund is named in honor of professor Michele Shoresman, B.S. ‘71, Ed.M. ’74, and Ph.D. ’89 ED.

The scholarship will support undergraduate students in the College who participate in a study or teach abroad program and display financial need.

Yang, a prominent businesswoman in Hong Kong, has carved out a highly successful career—one that, she says, would not have been possible were it not for her education from Illinois.

“Without English, without my understanding of the American system and industry, I would not be who I am today,” Yang says. “I am indebted to both the University of Illinois and to Michele. She was my family, my mom, my hero. She was everything to me, a strong woman with a warm heart who helped me understand U.S. society and the university. She greatly impacted my life.”

Shoresman, who enjoyed a long and illustrious career in international education for both the University of Illinois and Washington University in St. Louis, first met Yang in the late 1980s. Yang acted as a translator and assistant for Shoresman, who was in China working on her dissertation. Shoresman encouraged Yang to come to Illinois to work on her Ph.D., but at the time, Yang, a graduate student at Peking University, was making $10 a month.

So upon returning home, Shoresman sent Yang $1,000 to come to America. (That sum is valued at over $2,500 today). In fact, Shoresman had to give Yang $1,000 twice, because the first time the money was stolen before it reached Yang.

Once Yang arrived on campus, Shoresman took her under her wing, helping her acclimate to a very different culture than Yang knew.

“I think every student should have the opportunity to study abroad, and funding that opportunity should not be a factor,” Shoresman says. “I feel strongly that we have a lot to learn from other countries and that we need to be open to learning from others.”

“Scholarship funds like this support our students, future teachers, to study abroad,” says Allison Witt, director of International Programs in the College of Education. “Having this transformative experience will enable them to bring new cultural knowledge into their own future classrooms, communities, and lives. Preservice teachers will use this experience for years to come as they develop their own lessons, bringing best practices from abroad to benefit students here. Moreover, this first-hand experience will help them develop empathy when teaching students who are new to our culture and classrooms. The experience will benefit not only our students now, but future students, for years to come.”

Yang is a managing director and advisor to the CEO at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, which is a stock exchange operator akin to the NYSE or NASDAQ in the U.S. Her career has spanned academia, regulatory bodies, and financial institutions. She was also a member of the Hang Seng Index advisory committee, contributing her expertise to one of Asia’s most influential stock market indices.

"This heartwarming story demonstrates the power of alumni connections to create extraordinary opportunities,” says Heather Zorn, assistant dean for the College’s Office of Advancement. “We're deeply grateful to Dr. Yang for honoring Dr. Shoresman and providing our students with valuable experiences that will foster future connections."

If you want to support this scholarship or create similar opportunities for students, faculty, research, and programs, please email the College's Office of Advancement or visit our Giving page.