Posted: 1/23/07
A helping hand across the globe has unexpected results
By Jane Palen
Managing Editor
Just five years ago, Youliego "Andy" Zhou faced an uncertain future in China. He had quit school so that his younger sister could attend, and his dreams of attending a university seemed unattainable.
He became acquainted with Lyle and Mary Ellen Lapham of Caledonia, who taught in China. Their granddaughter Emily and her mother, Sharen, visited in 2001, and Andy was their translator and guide for part of their visit. Sharen was impressed with the young man and the sacrifice he made for his sister. Upon her return home, she decided to raise funds so that Andy could continue his education.
That gesture resulted in much more than Sharen, or Andy, ever anticipated. Not only did he finish high school in China, he was one of only two students in China who was chosen for a four-year Freeman Asian Scholarship to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The scholarship covers tuition, housing and fees, worth almost $35,000 per year.
Andy visited in Caledonia over his Christmas break after completing his first semester at Wesleyan.
A difficult journey
Andyís story begins in a small rural village in one of Chinaís northern provinces, near the Korean border. He attended school for a while in Korea, and learned to speak Korean. His father ran into financial difficulties, and moved the family south, where he hoped relatives would lend assistance.
In China, families that are Mandarin are allowed to have only one child. His sister Lucyís birth, he said, was "illegal." In fact, the government would not allow her to have a birth certificate. And because the family had moved from one province to another, tuition costs were very high. The family could not afford to send both of them to school.
When Lucy was about nine years old, Andy decided that it was not right to have her stay at home, so he asked his parents to send her to school instead of him. He believed that he was better prepared to teach himself, and he did not like the idea of his sister staying at home.
When Sharen and Emily returned to Caledonia, they began telling Andyís story. Donations were received from the a number of groups in Caledonia, including the United Methodist Church, Rotary, Lions, and Community Education. Other contributors included the Portland Prairie 4-H Club, community members, family and friends.
"It made a huge difference," said Andy on January 16. "I was able to go to school. The funds she raised helped. Our relatives didnít help, and I was heartbroken. I started to believe that no one was good." Not only did the money allow Andy to attend school, it restored his faith in people.
An exciting opportunity
Andyís mother was supportive of his decision to apply for the Freeman Scholarship, but told him he should have a back-up plan. He was determined to go to college outside of China, and was considering Seoul National University as well.
In China, Andy explained, education is rooted in the ideology of the government.
"You canít do serious research there," he said. The social sciences are taught in a way that reinforces and supports the government; criticism is not allowed. History classes rarely look at events that happened before 1949, the year the Peopleís Republic of China was created. Other countries are not studied, and learning is mainly memorization.
"You are not allowed to think," Andy said.
One of Andyís first assignments at Wesleyan was to write an essay on any subject he chose.
"I was bewildered," he said. "Students in China are not allowed to think for themselves."
Still, he said, it was easy for him to adjust to Western culture. He believes itís harder for American students to understand Chinese culture.
The internet has provided many of Andyís contemporaries in China with an opportunity to learn more about the U.S., although the government blocks many sites, including Wikipedia. Even the Wesleyan site was blocked for awhile, said Andy. He suspects that it was because his scholarshipís namesake, Houghton Freeman, was an American born in Shanghai who assisted the Nationalists prior to 1949. His father, Mansfield Freeman, had helped develop the insurance industry in China, and was a founding member of the management group that later became AIG.
The firewalls used to block the sites are not impenetrable, and computer users can find ways around them, according to Andy.
Andy has a gift for languages, and in addition to Mandarin Chinese, the Wenzhou dialect, Korean, and English, he is now teaching himself German.
Part of the requirement of the scholarship is that Andy return to China and contribute to society. That requirement is the same for all recipients of the Freeman Asian Scholarship, which selects two students from each of the 11 southeast Asian countries.
Although he is allowed to travel home to China on breaks and in the summer, itís not likely that he will be able to afford to travel that distance. But he is happy to visit his other home and family in Minnesota, and expects to make more trips to Caledonia over the next four years. Having lived in a rural area himself, he enjoys the clean air, and even the snow.
"This is a very nice place," he said.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com