Michelle Obama Pushes Study in China Initiative for Black Students
By Michael Tomlin-Crutchfield
Special to Trice Edney News Wire from the District Chronicles
(TEWire) - Two years ago, President Obama told a town hall meeting in Shanghai, China, that America had no better ambassadors to offer than its young people. To underscore the importance the Administration places on study abroad programs, Obama announced a “100,000 Strong” initiative to send more American students to study in China.
Last week, First Lady Michelle Obama renewed that commitment in a speech at Howard University where she challenged more universities and schools to send students to China.
“It’s not just about the relationships we form with our fellow leaders,” said the First Lady. “It’s about the relationships we form with people, specifically our young people.”
The First Lady¹s speech at Cramton Auditorium was scheduled as part of Chinese President Hu Jintao¹s state visit and was intended to renew the Administration¹s commitment to the “100,000 Strong” challenge. Mrs. Obama spoke to more than a thousand young people from Washington, D.C., area public, private and parochial schools, colleges and universities across the nation about the importance of building relationships with their peers in China and creating a mutual understanding around the world.
The First Lady has made youth engagement her international focus by both reaching out to young people around the world on behalf of the U.S. and also encouraging American youth to become more involved in world affairs, as she highlighted in her 2010 George Washington University commencement speech.
Sarah Davis, a 7th grader at Tyee Middle School in Bellevue, Wash., listened intently to the First Lady¹s pitch on the importance of American students learning Chinese culture and language. Davis was the only student elected from her school to come to the event and was accompanied by her teacher, Rong fen Sun Burford.
“Out of all the languages, Chinese is the most difficult and interesting,” Davis said. John Flower, director of the Chinese Studies Program and Global Initiatives at Sidewell Friends School, brought a group of student to the event as well.
“I hope to learn about the program and how it can help students and the future of the partnership between the two countries,” Flower said. “We¹re honored to be here.”
Last year, 17 Howard graduate students spent two months studying in China. But Howard President Sidney Ribeau said the university plans to expand its study abroad program.
“We are working to expand our University and expose our students to more opportunities,” Ribeau told the audience. That was good news for Jannette Dates, dean of the School of Communications. The School’s honor program plans to develop an international study component, she said.
“We are a very interconnected society and we want to stress the importance of being global to our young people,” said Anne Stock, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs. “After speaking to President Ribeau backstage on how Howard plans to send more students abroad, it’s really a win-win situation for everyone that gets involved with the initiative.”
Stock told the audience that there were all kinds of resources and scholarships through the State Department, college and the private sector to pursue these opportunities.
“We do not want our young people to be afraid to apply,” she added. The event featured a panel of college and high school students from around the country, including Howard University student Nicole Baden, a senior communications major, who had studied in China.
Senior communications major, Nicole Baden, says the experience was life changing.
“You learn how challenging and interesting the Chinese language can be to learn,” she said. “But you also gain a sense of the similarities that you have with people abroad.”
The Chinese government was strict, but youth in the country enjoyed various freedoms youth in America enjoyed, Baden said.
“They are students and young people just like we are,” she said. “After school we went to the movies and experienced nightlife just like anywhere else.”
Several other students told of their experiences in China. They included D.C. high school student Lyric Carter, a student at the Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School; Valery Lavigne, College of New Jersey and David Marzban, Pepperdine University. They all were effusive about their experiences in China and all planned to go back another time.
“After graduation, I would like to return to China to teach English,” Marzbam said. “But I plan on attending law school and I believe that my experiences will lead to great opportunities in the future.”