Tania Ziegler while studying abroad in China in fall 2007

“I hope to pursue my research on outward foreign direct investment in a meaningful and prudent way,” Ziegler said. “The study of foreign direct investment within the context of China has taken the forefront when discussing this nation’s economics.”

A double major in economics and political science, Ziegler studied abroad during fall 2007 in Beijing through Loyola’s partner program with the Beijing Center at the University of International Business and Economics. The idea for her research sprang from an economics course she took there on Sino-U.S. foreign relations.

“I became fascinated by the intricate relationship that foreign direct investment plays with regard to China’s domestic economy,” Ziegler said. “Specifically, I began to research outward foreign direct investment as it relates to capital scarcity within the domestic economy.”

Back at Loyola, as her research idea developed, Ziegler contacted the professor who taught her Sino-US economics class and asked him to read her research proposal for the Fulbright. He shared it with a colleague, and they agreed to serve as her supervisors for the project.

When Arthur Sutherland, Ph.D., director of Loyola’s National Fellowships Office, learned this week that award letters had been mailed, he called Ziegler immediately. “I ran to my mailbox and ripped open the letter,” Ziegler said. “I was so nervous that it took me a few moments to realize what the letter actually said. I called my mom as soon as it sunk in.”

Now Ziegler is preparing to leave for Beijing in late May to participate in the China Voice language enhancement program at the Beijing Center. She will attend a Fulbright orientation in the U.S. in June and then return immediately to China. After completing her Fulbright, she will participate in Teach for America and then plans to attend graduate school.

But the immediate focus for an “ecstatic” Ziegler is her Fulbright—the first awarded to a Loyola student since Dylan Baker, ’99, received the honor in 2000.

“The key to winning a Fulbright is to have a project that can only be done in the country where you want to go. If you can go to Loyola’s library and study this, then they’re not going to fund it,” said Sutherland, associate professor of theology. “Tania had strong connections and a well-crafted application.”

And Ziegler received encouragement from Loyola faculty. Her Fulbright application was supported by Nicholas Miller, Ph.D., associate professor of English, Kevin Hula, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, and Hank Hilton, S.J., Ph.D., associate professor of economics.

At Loyola, where she took Chinese language courses, Ziegler is also a member of Loyola’s Honors Program and co-chair of the Honors Program Student Council.

“She’s a very extraverted person, very engaging, and I’m sure the Chinese that she met over there were very impressed with her,” Sutherland said. “The Fulbright really is sort of a mini-cultural ambassadorship. You’re representing the United States abroad.”