" -, • • , • PORTUNITY Christian education influences Chinese students Tve East Asia Studies Program began with a group of 17 college pro~ fessors from Hunan Province, China, and increased (Q 45 srudems the next fall. But with 83 srudems on campus this fall, the East Asia Studies Program was noticed on campus. "Of all the programs in the state ofArkansas, our program is the largest program in number," said Dr. Thomas Peng, director of admissions and student services for the American Studies Insricme. According to Peng, the program expanded to not on ly include students from China, but from across eastern Asia as well. He said one reason for this growth is that China itself is in a period of growth and learning from advanced coumries is very valuable to China's future. Second, in the past, Chinese families had not been wealthy enough to send their children to the United States (0 study, but now, because of China's economic growth, families were beginning (0 gain the means to do just thac. Many of the scudents who had graduated went back to China to apply what they learned here to their jobs. Of the 17 students who graduated, 14 of them returned to China. Most of the students, who were in their 30s and 40s, received sizable promotions at their companies when they got back because of their experiences in the United States. There was a sense ofcommunity among the srudems as they participated in many activities offered by Peng and junior Wryland Reed, who organized church services and social gatherings for the students. "On Friday nights, I and my wife get together a group ofstudents to watch TV, sing karaoke or play cards for fun," Peng said. Other activities included movies shown in the McInteer building and eating dinner in the homes of different famil ies around town. Reed put forth his efforts to form,ra ministry that helped the students develop their faith. He organized church services that met in Shores Chapel every Sunday morning. Wryland began carpooling the students to church, but soon after, they ran Out of room in the van. They were faced with two choices: get a bus to carryall ofthe students to church or start a congregation on campus. After moving the group to Shores Chapel, there was an increase to 56 attendants. Graduate student Yun Wang said his coming to Harding was because of a visit that President David Burks, Jim Carr, vice president of academic affairs, and Milo Hadwin, adjunct professo r of Bible, made to China encouraging him to attend. His plans were to go back to China where he could use his skills from the masters program in business. He said he appreciated that Harding taught ethics in business, something that classes in China lacked. According to Peng, the education the Chinese students received at Harding could ultimately help shape China to reach its full potential as a country. -Andrew Leeper Selecting food for their plates, freshmen Xiouy– ang Zhou, Zhuxian Yang and Ting Liu attend the Festival of the Moon held on the front lawn Oct. 7. "It was neat to see the Chinese students getting us involved in their culture," senior Katie Moran said. -Chelsea Roberson • ., • ~ • , - •. - -~ • tI, • f f' •• • .. .;. . .. • .. • " •• • .. international students -,2""",_ _ •
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