Taiwan Huayu BEST Scholarship Students Attend Orientation at TECO in Houston
The University of St. Thomas in Houston and Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages jointly established a Mandarin Center at the University of St. Thomas in September 2021, in conjunction with the new Taiwan Huayu BEST Program sponsored by the Ministry of Education to strengthen language education cooperation between universities in the United States and in Taiwan, and the Taiwan–US Education Initiative.
After a round of competitive recruitment, five outstanding students were selected by the Mandarin Center to be awarded a Taiwan Huayu BEST scholarship this year. The students, who are majoring in International Relations, International Trade, and East Asian Studies, will be the first Taiwan Huayu BEST group to study Mandarin at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages for six months. During their stay, as well as attending Mandarin classes, they’ll also assist with some English learning activities in K-12 schools in Kaohsiung, where the university is located.
The Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston hosted a pre-departure orientation for the five students on February 10, 2022, to provide them with information about studying in Taiwan and answer any questions they might have. They were accompanied by Dr. Yao-Yuan Yeh, director, and Ms. Nicole Hsiao, Mandarin lecturer, at the new Mandarin Center of the Universities of St. Thomas and Wenzao Ursuline, established at the University of St. Thomas.
Robert Lo, the director-general of TECO in Houston, welcomed everyone and congratulated the students for their hard work that had won them the scholarships. He encouraged them to explore the beauty of Taiwan while studying Mandarin there.
Andrea Yang, the director of the Education Division, then gave a presentation to provide a snapshot of Taiwan, its higher education, other scholarship opportunities such as the Taiwan Scholarships, opportunities for teaching English in Taiwan, and many tips for living in Taiwan. The scholarship recipients enjoyed the informative presentation together with some bubble milk tea and baked treats from a local Taiwanese bakery. They are all looking forward to their stay in Taiwan and learning more about its culture, as well as improving their language skills.