Growing up in the rural town of Yangzhong, China, in the 1970S and '80S, Allen Xi dreamed of becoming a medical doctor — just like his parents. Unlike some would-be physicians, Xi's choice of vocation wasn't motivated by the promise of financial gain or a glamorous lifestyle. In fact, it was the opposite.

“In the village where I was raised, everyone was paid the same,” Xi says. “Doctors earned the same amount of money as, say, a street sweeper. However, doctors are highly regarded for the work they do. In my hometown, my mom was one of the most famous, if not the most respected, pediatricians. From the time I was young, I wanted to be a doctor.”

Chinese law requires any student who wants to attend college to take the same entrance exam, and Xi was no exception. Because a person's test score largely determines his or her future, the Chinese education system is extremely competitive. Despite years of intense study and an outstanding score on his college entrance exam, Xi's test results indicated he would be better suited to a career in engineering.

The young man from YangZhong soon found himself transplanted to the bustling city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, attending Wuhan University's school of engineering.

“In China, rural versus urban living are totally different,” Xi says. “I remember vividly how embarrassed I was on my first day at college when my roommates were discussing a popular singer I had never even heard of.” It took Xi almost two years to catch up on pop culture and other “cool stuff” the city kids already knew.

After earning his BSEE degree, Xi was accepted to the Chinese Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI; Beijing), where he earned his master's degree. As part of CEPRI's system study department, Xi worked on system planning for the Three Gorges Dam Project. “As an electrical power engineer, it was fascinating to work on one of the most challenging projects in history,” he says. “For that hydro plant, we were playing with the configuration of sixteen 500-kV transmission lines — thirteen ac and three dc lines. It was a fun experience.” During this time, Xi met his future wife and began considering a move to the United States.

“I wanted to come to the United States to see if the movies truly represent it and see if I can survive in a totally different environment,” Xi says, adding that he thinks America is “even better” than Hollywood's version. “None of my parents' generation lives 200 miles away from our hometown, and I am moving to a place 9000 miles away.”

It wasn't long before the University of Kansas offered him a spot in its MBA program. Xi jumped at the chance. Xi's wife, also an electrical engineer, soon joined him in the United States, as did other family members.

“Most of my family members live either here or in Canada,” says Xi. “We all came here independently. My younger brother lives in Chicago. My wife's brother is an assistant professor at Notre Dame, and my wife's sister is a CPA in Vancouver.”

Today, Xi is manager of the electrical department of Burns & McDonnell's Houston, Texas, U.S., office. In 2000, he joined the company as a design engineer and then took on the role of project manager. In 2002, Xi was asked to lead the substation group in Houston. Currently, he manages a group of 35 electrical engineers. “Satisfying the different requirements of different companies (IOUs, municipals and cooperatives) is a challenging position and requires me to fully utilize my technical and managerial skills,” he says.

Despite Xi's success in the United States, he hasn't forgotten his Eastern roots. Twice a year, Xi sends money back to China for children and their schoolbooks. A father of two, Xi says he and his wife strive to blend both Western and Chinese traditions, but that it's hard because “American and Chinese cultures are dramatically different. Americans are direct and straightforward, while the Chinese are more reserved and relationship-centered.” To ensure their children know how to speak fluent Chinese, Xi and his wife insist on following one rule, “At home, if the children want something, they must ask for it in Chinese.” When they are older, Xi plans to send his children to summer camps in China. “I want my kids to know Western and Eastern cultures,” he says.

After returning to YangZhong for a visit in December 2005, Xi admits that his native country is changing. “Now, when I go back, I feel kind of strange,” he says. “Western culture is much more acceptable than when I was young. So many of the girls in urban areas dye their hair! And almost everyone in their 20s and 30s wants to speak English. I am glad that there is so much modernization. At the same time, it is not the hometown I was familiar with. It does not have the wild flowers, trees and empty land and calm lifestyle that I remember.”

Does Xi still wish he had become a doctor? “Not at all,” he says. “I was drawn to electrical engineering by accident, but I have no regrets. My strength is geared toward logic and analyzing things. I would not be as good a doctor as I am an engineer. Driving down the road with my daughter and son and pointing out which substations I designed is very fulfilling.”