Written by Griffith Hawk

Hello everyone! My name is Griffith Hawk, and I am a senior at Birmingham-Southern College who will be spending the next school year overseas at GuangXi Normal University in Guilin, China. I was fortunate to have been selected as a Boren National Security Scholar, allowing me to dive into language study overseas for two semesters and continue the language education I started at BSC.

While I am abroad, BSC has asked me to keep a log of what this experience is like, and I am happy to share what I encounter these next two semesters abroad. I will be writing updates for the BSC Blog and along with smaller, more frequent updates for my own website throughout the year. On my personal website, I will practice writing in Chinese long form because I will post each article in English and Mandarin.

So, how did I decide to go to China?

As part of BSC’s explorations curriculum, I took a Mandarin class during my first semester. I understood that a liberal arts education is supposed to push you outside your normal comfort zones, but I had absolutely no experience, background, or knowledge about Chinese. However, I figured a 101 class wouldn’t kill me, and when would I ever get to take a Chinese class again?

The class was fun, and after the first semester, I knew the language was something I wanted to add to my education. It also helped that I had a wonderful educator in Dr. Yahui Anita Huang, associate professor of Chinese. She made learning a complex language fun and engaging, taking classes to Chinese restaurants to practice ordering and providing nearly one-on-one instruction.

Dr. Huang also pushed her students to find opportunities to study abroad, and in talking with her I began to search for scholarships that would allow me to take my beginner Chinese to a higher level through immersion. Learning Chinese has already opened so many doors to jobs, internships, and opportunities I never thought I would have, so I was committed to making at least moderate fluency a goal.

Luckily, there are several scholarships and organizations dedicated to taking Americans abroad to learn foreign languages. With the help of Anne Ledvina, associate director of the Sklenar Center for International Programs and BSC’s best resource when it comes to travel and education abroad, we were able to locate and apply for a couple of scholarships.

The Critical Language Scholarship and the Boren National Security Scholarship both offer large stipends to study languages in demand by various government agencies and the Department of State. I recommend exploring both of these options if you have ever thought about really diving into language study. After countless application revisions and many visits to Anne’s office in Norton Campus Center, I found out in April that I had an opportunity to go to China.

What will I do in China?

Under the Boren Scholarship, I am still an undergraduate student and enrolled in a couple of elective political science classes at Guangxi Normal University. However, the focus of my year will be at the Chinese Language Institute, located by the University in Guilin, China. I will take a rigorous crash course in day-to-day Chinese, and the institute provides me with one-on-one tutoring, small classes, and total immersion in Chinese.

When I’m not studying, I will take advantage of being in one of the most beautiful parts of southern China. I hope to explore the city and hike to the mountains that surround Guilin. China also has a high-speed rail system with a hub in my city. I will do my best to make it to as many parts of the country as possible, sampling all the food I can along the way.

Other than that, I’m excited to meet new folks and experience what college life is like in China — all while practicing my Mandarin in daily life.

I look forward to keeping you all posted on my experiences. Next time, I will say hello from China!

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Last year, Hawk was BSC’s Student Government Association president. He was involved in Theta Chi and the Stump Entrepreneurship Scholars, and he served as president of Omicron Delta Kappa, a Southern Ambassador, and an orientation leader. Hawk is a business administration major with minors in political science and Chinese.

If you have any questions for Hawk about his scholarship application experience or interest in study abroad, feel free to email him at [email protected]. Anne Ledvina in the Krulak Institute at BSC can also help with scholarship questions. Reach her at [email protected].