{"id":63925,"date":"2011-01-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-contingent-supports-first-ladys-push-for-100000-strong-initiative\/"},"modified":"2011-01-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-25T00:00:00","slug":"uri-contingent-supports-first-ladys-push-for-100000-strong-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2011\/01\/uri-contingent-supports-first-ladys-push-for-100000-strong-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 contingent supports First Lady\u2019s push for \u201c100,000 Strong Initiative\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 January 25, 2011 \u2013 Four 溏心vlog免费B站 students applauded First Lady Michelle Obama call last week for greater participation in study abroad programs.<\/p>\n


\n\tThe four, who are part of the school\u2019s Chinese Language Flagship Partner Program, were in the audience at Howard University\u2019s Cramton Auditorium in Washington, D.C. last Wednesday to hear Obama speak. Juniors Kaylen Duarte, of Warwick, Patrick Slavin, of East Greenwich, Ai Chang Guo of Middletown, and freshman Alyssa Zisk, of Sharon, Mass. represented the University at Obama\u2019s appearance, which supported President Obama\u2019s \u201c100,000 Strong Initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tMore than 1000 students from around the country were on hand to hear Mrs. Obama\u2019s speech, which focused on the importance of building relationships with student peers in China to create mutual understanding of different cultures around the world. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cStudying in countries like China isn\u2019t only about your prospects in the global marketplace,\u201d Obama told the audience. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about whether you can compete with your peers in other countries to make America stronger. It\u2019s also about whether you can come together, and work together with them to make our world stronger. It\u2019s about the friendships you make, the bonds of trust you establish, and the image of America that you project to the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe \u201c100,000 Strong Initiative\u201d was unveiled by President Obama during a 2009 visit to China. Last week, Michelle Obama announced that more than $2.25 million in private sector pledges had been secured, increasing the number and diversity of American students studying in China. The D.C. Center for Global Education and Leadership will create up to 1,000 study abroad opportunities over the next four years in support of the president\u2019s initiative for students, teachers, and education policymakers from Washington, D.C. public and public charter schools, an underserved community.<\/p>\n

The 溏心vlog免费B站 contingent \u2013 all of whom said the Chinese Language Flagship Partner Program has had a major impact on their academic careers \u2013 applauded the First Lady\u2019s message.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s nice to hear that the government feels these type of programs are so important,\u201d said Duarte, a journalism major. <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cIt was really a call for more students to get involved in study abroad programs,\u201d said Slavin, a marketing major. \u201cThat\u2019s something we all agree with. When you study abroad, you get a real personal experience in another culture. You learn that we\u2019re similar to other cultures, despite our differences. It\u2019s a chance to dispel myths and stereotypes we have of other cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tEach of the four students has already studied abroad in China twice, with plans to return before graduation. 溏心vlog免费B站 is one of just nine schools in the country to offer the Chinese Flagship program, joining Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, Hunter College (City University of New York), Indiana University, San Francisco State University, the University of Mississippi, the University of Oregon and Western Kentucky University.<\/p>\n


\n\tBy being one of the universities to offer the Chinese Language Flagship Program, 溏心vlog免费B站 is providing better opportunities for students.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cWe need to know more about other cultures than the language that you learn in the classroom,\u201d said Chang Guo, a fashion merchandizing major. \u201cStudents in China start taking foreign languages by the time they are 8 years old. People there are able to speak. Their understanding of our culture is more advanced, which obviously helps them in terms of the global market.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tOne of the key areas stressed by Obama was getting more minorities involved in study abroad programs. That the First Lady delivered her speech at a historically black university was not lost on the 溏心vlog免费B站 students.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cThere is a need to specifically target black and Hispanic students for study abroad programs,\u201d Duarte said. \u201cIt was noticeable in the crowd. The students were mostly white and Asian. We need to make sure that all students are aware of these programs and the opportunities they provide.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\t溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Chinese Language Flagship Partner Program was either a draw or a reason to stay at 溏心vlog免费B站 for the four students who attended Obama\u2019s speech to the University. Zisk, who is majoring in mechanical engineering and mathematics, said that 溏心vlog免费B站 was not on her wish list until Erin Papa, coordinator of the Chinese Language Flagship Partner Program, visited her high school.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201c溏心vlog免费B站 was not on the map for me until I heard about this program,\u201d Zisk said. \u201cErin convinced me because of the flagship program. It changed my life, my goals for the future and my view of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tSimilarly, Duarte and Slavin said they both considered transferring before getting involved in the program.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cNow I have no regrets about being here,\u201d Duarte said. \u201cThis program has become such a huge part of my life and has opened doors for me that I didn\u2019t know where there.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPictured above

\nMichelle Obama – First Lady Michelle Obama speaks about the “100,000 Strong

\nInitiative” to stress the importance of study abroad opportunities during an

\nappearance at Howard University in Washington, D.C. last week.<\/p>\n


\n溏心vlog免费B站 students Ai Chang Guo, Kaylen Duarte, Alyssa Zisk and Patrick

\nSlavin were on hand to hear the First Lady’s speech.

\nPhotos are courtesy of Kaylen Duarte<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 January 25, 2011 \u2013 Four 溏心vlog免费B站 students applauded First Lady Michelle Obama call last week for greater participation in study abroad programs. The four, who are part of the school\u2019s Chinese Language Flagship Partner Program, were in the audience at Howard University\u2019s Cramton Auditorium in Washington, D.C. last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}