MANSFIELD, PA— Eight graduate students from Shaanxi University of Science and Technology (SUST) in Xi’an, China are spending three months at Mansfield University in a special “travel study” program.
The students arrived in late December and stayed with local American families for two weeks. This homestay experience was designed to help students see firsthand how Americans live.
With the start of the spring semester, the students will be taking three short-term graduate courses, two of which will be co-taught. The courses are Leadership Theory and Practical Application, co-taught by Adam Brennan, Music, and Adrianne McEvoy, Philosophy; The American Experience with Jeffrey Bosworth and Frank Chua, History and Political Science; and The American Experience Lab with Brad Lint, English and Modern Languages.
In addition to their graduate studies, the students have a full schedule of excursions. They will go to a number of cities and tourist destinations, such as New York City, Washington, DC and Niagara Falls. The students will also visit area businesses, including Corning Incorporated and wineries in the Finger Lakes and visit the Corning (NY) Chinese School and at Notre Dame High School in Elmira, NY to study how Americans learn Chinese.
“By combining homestay, graduate studies, and travel experiences, this special program will afford students a deeper understanding of American culture than they might otherwise have gained from a purely academic program,” Lint, who acts as translator when needed, said. “The day after they arrived, President Hendricks warmly welcomed the students to America and encouraged them to participate fully in campus life.”
The students are “Phoebe” Gao Tingting, “Kathy” Kang Qian, “Monica” Meng Jingru, “Belle” Qiao Sen, “Amy” Dong Yue, “Nelly” Wei Zhen, “Mars” Zhang Haoliang, and “Sunny” Zhang Weipeng.
At SUST, they are studying a variety of degree fields, from Ideological and Political Education to Light Industry Technology and Engineering.