Alumnae News & Highlights

Dori's Q&A with students

A Youngstown native, Dori came to HB Freshman year, one of five girls in her class living in the school dorm. That “first taste of independence” helped develop a confidence that carried her through a decades-long career as a writer, she notes today. Later, writing for Princeton’s newspaper in college, summer jobs at Youngstown’s Vindicator and two years of Chinese language study in Singapore led her to pursue a career as a foreign correspondent. In 1981, she landed a job with BusinessWeek, first in New York, and then in Hong Kong, where “I spent eight years covering China during this pivotal time in history,” says Dori (she also met her husband, Paul Yang, a Chinese native, while there; together they have one daughter, Emily). After returning to the States in 1990, Dori began authoring books. In 2020, she published her eighth, a memoir and self-described “capstone project” titled: When the Red Gates Opened.

An important turning point in my life was...

“1979, when the US and Chinese governments established diplomatic relations and China opened to foreigners; that presented a huge opportunity to me as a journalist. Also, ten years later, when the Chinese army cracked down on protesters in Beijing. That was the biggest story I covered.”

I’m most proud of…

“During my time at BusinessWeek I wrote eight cover stories and during my time as an author, I wrote eight books. I’m also really proud of my cross-cultural marriage and of my cross-cultural daughter.”

The most valuable parts of my HB experience were...

“a strong foundation in writing and a fascination with language and other countries.”

In hindsight…

“HB wasn’t just about getting good grades, but trying new things, learning how to learn.”  

My favorite space at HB…

“The HB dorm. My family lived in Youngstown, so if there hadn’t been a dorm, I couldn’t have gone to HB.”

My most valuable life lesson so far is...

“You can do what you aspire to do, but maybe not all at once, so be prepared to focus on different goals at different times of life.”

Building the future means...

“I’ve been super impressed with how HB expanded course offerings to include really strong math and science programs as well as writing and global affairs. These are skills and knowledge that will be vital for all Americans in the future.”