Inkstone - The BYU Chinese Flagship Center's Online Voice

Issue 12 March 11, 2011

Events

Upcoming Events

NSA Information Meeting
Friday, March 25th, 2011.
Time and place TBD.

HSK Test
Saturday, April 9, 2011.
Time and place TBD


Videos

New Videos

Flagship Introduction clip coming soon

Upcoming Deadlines

Upcoming Deadlines

HSK Testing Info Submitted
Thursday, March 17, 2011.

Chinese Language Scholarship
Monday, March 14, 2011

Student Spotlight: Alex Morrise

Alex Morrise is a Flagship student with a surprisingly diverse range of talents. Our brief interview only scratched the surface. Alex is a junior majoring in Chinese, with a double-minor in Computer Science and Business Management. He was born and raised in Provo, UT and served a Mission in Taipei, Taiwan. Upon returning to BYU, he started studying Chinese at a collegiate level.

Alex joined Flagship because of his love for Chinese, and he knew that Flagship would be the best way to continue his studies. He’s hoping that being a part of Flagship will give him an advantage over other candidates as he pursues a Chinese-related career.

After discussing school and Flagship, we explored his hobbies and other goals. Enter the surprising diversity. Alex mentioned a passion for writing and recording music, as well as playing the piano, guitar and bass guitar.

Last Saturday at the BYU Chinese Speech Competition, Alex decided to combine his two loves, Chinese and music, and perform a Chinese rap “Listen to What Mom Says,” by a Jay Chou, an unexpected talent from this soft-spoken young man. His performance won him second place at the competition in the Music category, no surprise for those who saw his performance.

But don’t take our word for it. Check out the video of his performance for yourself!
Local Flagship News
Chinese Language Students Perform their Talents

Last Saturday, on March 5, UVU and BYU students gathered together at the Chinese Speech Competition to display their Chinese speaking and singing talents. Students competed at three different levels in the Speech category: beginning, intermediate and advanced, and at a general level in the music category. There were duets, others who played an instrument and sang, and others who performed solo.

Several Flagship and Flagship students participated, and the standout performance was by our very own Alex Morrise, rapping Jay Chou’s “Listen to What Mom Says.” Alex walked away that afternoon with the second place in the music category.

Two Flagship applicants were awarded first and second place in the Advanced-Level Speech category. Overall, it was a great show of ability by those connected to the Flagship program.

Sponsored by the BYU Chinese Department and co-sponsored by BYU Chinese Flagship, this was the Chinese language competitive event of the year. We look forward to an even greater turnout next year!

Volunteers Needed!!

The BYU Chinese Flagship Center will host the third-annual Chinese Language Fair on April 15th, 2011 from 8:30am-12pm in the Tanner Building Atrium. The Language Fair is an opportunity for high school students to visit our campus and participate in exciting events and activities, including a talent show, paper cutting, and calligraphy! We would love to have help from Flagship students in running booths, interacting with the high school students and promoting the Flagship program. For more information on this year’s Chinese Language Fair, visit the website and check out the information posted.

Event Details


NSA Information Session
 NSA Foreign Language Hiring Manager and recruiters, John Burkhardt and Mark Bennett, will be visiting the BYU campus on March 25th. They are currently recruiting for their Foreign Language Intelligence Analysis positions and will discuss career opportunities for Flagship and other students within the NSA.

HSK Testing

BYU will be hosting the HSK test on April 9th, 2011. Early Flagship students are required to take this test and will therefore not be required to pay for the test. However, any other Flagship student who has already taken the HSK and wishes to take it again this year will be required to pay the fee.

Our office will be contacting you shortly to gather registration information. Please look for and answer as soon as possible, no later than March 17th so that we can get you registered for this test.

Please contact Trang Nquyen at trangnguyen.08s@gmail.com for any additional information and questions.

Scholarship Opportunity

Chinese Language Scholarship

Looking for a way to help fund your capstone year in China? Apply for the Chinese Language Scholarship sponsored by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). The CSC has granted BYU a scholarship that includes full tuition, fees, accommodations, a living allowance, an inter-city travel subsidy, and medical services.

To be eligible, students must complete Chinese 202 prior to their departure to China.

However, this scholarship is only available for the 2011-2012 school year. Application deadline is March 14th. For additional scholarship information and application materials, please visit our website.

Summer Language Programs

Don’t want to become rusty with your language skills this summer? Apply for a summer language program either stateside or in China. We’ve discovered that the more a student travels to China before their capstone experience, the better the experience is during their capstone year. For those who are eligible, there is also funding available. Qualified students may receive funding ranging from up to $3,500 for domestic programs and $7,000 for overseas.*

Browse through the following recommended programs and decide which one is best for you.**

Indiana Flagship Institute
This is an 8 week course from June 18th to August 14th. Acceptance into the program is on a first come first serve basis and applications will continue to be accepted until all 30 positions are filled.

Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE):

The Program lasts from the end of June to mid-August and the application deadline is March 15, 2011.

*To receive funding for programs students will need to be accepted into one of the programs and will also need recommendation letters from either our Flagship directors (Dr. Dana Bourgerie or Dr. Matthew Christensen) or other Chinese Flagship professors.

**For additional information on a specific program, click on the program title and it will take you to the description page.