Stefan Wolff will spend his summer in Beijing teaching Chinese college students about life in America.
This is the pilot year for the UF in Beijing: Chinese Commerce and Culture program, a new study abroad program at UF. Before traveling to Beijing, eight UF students will spend about two weeks in Gainesville learning about Chinese culture, commerce and some essential Chinese phrases.
They will leave for China in mid-June and spend five days visiting commercial and historical sites. The students will then assume their roles as cultural ambassadors, teaching their own lesson plans for about a month.
Wolff, a 20-year-old economics sophomore, was one of the eight selected out of 40 applicants to teach American culture at Tsinghua University this summer.
Robert Shields, academic adviser and career coach for Warrington College of Business Administration, is the head adviser for the program.
Shields said Tsinghua is one of the most highly regarded universities in China. The program started when Tsinghua’s staff wanted to prepare its students to volunteer for the Olympics, he said.
He said the program is an extension of that preparation.
“There will be students from all around the world teaching about their cultures,” Shields said. “So we really looked to make a group of eight that would represent the best of what UF has to offer. I really think the students we have will make a great impression.”
