Long Beach student to study in Taiwan

LONG BEACH - Andrea Rodriguez, a Chinese studies major at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB), has been awarded a $4,000 Wang Family Scholarship to fund her nine-month study abroad program at the National Taiwan University in Taipei.Rodriguez has traveled quite a bit but has never studied abroad before. While in Taiwan, she wants to learn about "everything that Taiwan has to offer," including the language, culture, history and more. She looks forward to sharing this knowledge with fellow CSULB students upon her return. "I would love to bring back the knowledge and experiences from a year abroad in hopes that others will someday take the wonderful opportunity to study and live in another country, not only to further their education but to learn about their host country and its people," Rodriguez said. During her school year in Taiwan, which begins in September, Rodriguez will take Chinese language courses. "My future plans include either teaching English in Taiwan or China, or becoming a translator or interpreter," she added. "Studying abroad in Taiwan can only help my future career plans, as many companies now want experience living in another country when applying for jobs involving another language." Rodriguez is appreciative of the support she has received to realize her dream of studying in another country. "I feel incredibly blessed to be awarded this scholarship and would love to thank the Wang Family for the scholarship as well as (Department of Asian and Asian American Studies) Professor Tim Xie and Assistant Professor Ruixi Ai for all their help with taking the first steps to learning the language and culture and for showing me the opportunities available at our campus for studying abroad and finding scholarships to help make it affordable," she said. "Study-abroad programs provide life-changing experiences for many of our students," said Jeet Joshee, associate vice president for International Education and Global Engagement and dean of the College of Continuing and Professional Education. "They often come back with a new understanding of how the world works and a deeper appreciation of new cultures, traditions and languages. "It also offers our students an opportunity to learn the life skills they need in this increasingly competitive world market," Joshee continued. "I recommend every student pursue at least one study abroad opportunity during their undergraduate years regardless of their academic discipline. The Wang Family Scholarship has been tremendous in helping many students over the years, and I am delighted that Andrea was selected to study in Taiwan for 2012-13." Recognizing the importance of international education, the Wang Family seeks to provide students with an opportunity to learn in an international environment and another culture. On a yearly basis, 20 $4,000 scholarships (10 per country) are awarded to students for study abroad at China's Peking University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Taiwan's National Taiwan University and National Tsing Hua University. Applicants are selected based on academic excellence, financial need and the quality of the scholarship application.

********** Published: July 05, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 12