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Oakwood University Students Receive Coveted HBCU-China Initiative Scholarships (1300 hits)

Several of Oakwood University's student scholars will travel to China during the summer of 2016 for a six-week educational program with language and cultural study. The student scholars are:

Esther Alexis - University Science and Technology, Beijing
Sonora Burrows - Shanghai Second Polytechnic University
Alexandria Henry-Smith - Dalian University of Technology
Hailey Jones - Shanghai Second Polytechnic University
Camille Moore - University of Science and Technology, Beijing
Kyle Smith - University of Science and Technology, Beijing
Shawna Wynter - Shanghai Second Polytechnic University

In this program, students will:
- have an environmental scientist mentor from Nanjing Forestry University
- receive lectures in Mandarin, Chinese culture and history, statistics, and how to create effective PowerPoint presentations and posters
- gain hands-on experience in a laboratory or field setting (often both)

Student scholar Adrianna Hayden has received the Summer Research Program in Ecological and Environmental Research scholarship for eight weeks of mentored, independent research that focuses on the effects of a variety of environmental impacts on the rapidly urbanizing landscape of Nanjing, China and surrounding areas.

Guiding the students through this initiative is Carmiele Wilkerson, Ph.D., '90, coordinator of the HBCU China Initiative, and a professor in the Department of English and Foreign Languages.

The HBCU-China Scholarship Network is a consortium of 42 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) formed in 2014 to facilitate the implementation of 1,000 scholarships awarded to HBCUs as announced by Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong in November 2013. Oakwood President Dr. Leslie N. Pollard joined the HBCU-China Network of HBCU Presidents in the 2014-2015 school year. "Oakwood University now has a memo of understanding with Nanjing Forestry University, and we hope to continue our partnership with them after the HBCU-China initiative has ended," Wilkerson said.