Students Study Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan
Ann Pang-White, Ph.D., director of Asian Studies and professor of philosophy at The University of Scranton, met with students who were studying Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan this summer through 2023 Huayu Enrichment Chinese Language Immersion Scholarships or as participants in the Project Global Officer (Project GO) Program. From left: Valerie Gibau, Rosalyn Page, Conan O’Donnell and Dr. Pang-White. Second photo is of Joshua Roark, who also studied in Taiwan this summer as the recipient of 2023 Taiwan Ministry of Education Huayu Enrichment Chinese Language Immersion Scholarship.University of Scranton students studied Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan this summer though support from 2023 Huayu Enrichment Chinese Language Immersion Scholarships from the Education Division of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York or through participation in the U.S. Department of Defense’s Project Global Officer (Project GO) Program.
University of Scranton students Valerie Gibau, Central Falls, Rhode Island, and Joshua Roark, Landenberg, were awarded 2023 Huayu Enrichment Chinese Language Immersion Scholarships. They studied at Fu Jen Catholic University, a Jesuit university in Taipei, Taiwan. The scholarship was established in 2005 by Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to encourage international students and individuals to study the Mandarin Chinese language in Taiwan.
Gibau is an international language and business major with a concentration in Asian Studies in her junior year at Scranton. Roark is a political science major with a concentration in Asian Studies in his sophomore year at Scranton.
Conan O’Donnell, an ROTC cadet, participated in the highly-selective Project Global Officer (Project GO) program to study Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan. He is a junior history major with a concentration in Asian Studies at Scranton. He is from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
Rosalyn Page, a Marywood University student who is member of the Army ROTC Royal Warrior Battalion at Scranton and is taking Mandarin Chinese classes at Scranton, was also selected to participate in the Project Global Officer (Project GO) program this summer. Page, Coudersport, is an aviation management major in her junior year at Marywood.
With support from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, The University of Scranton has strengthened its Chinese language program and hosted numerous events that showcase and educate members of the University and greater Scranton community about Taiwanese culture. During the past decade, the University has hosted a Taiwan Bangzi Opera Company performance of an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice;” the Taiwanese Film and Cultural Festival; and performances by the Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company and the Chai Found Music Workshop, among other enrichment and educational events.
In 2012, the University was formally presented with the Kinmen Peace Bell Replica by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York in recognition of the cordial relationship and collaboration between the University and the various government agencies and universities of Taiwan. The Peace Bell, engraved with the word “peace” in more than 100 languages, can be seen in the atrium of the Loyola Science Center on campus.
