On the night of August 29th, Student Ambassadors mixer was held in Schwarzman College. 72 student ambassadors from Tsinghua University’s 27 schools and departments and the first cohort of Schwarzman Scholars attended the event.
Schwarzman College’s Student Ambassadors Program began six months ago. In June this year, Yang Bin, Vice President of Tsinghua University, attended the kick-off meeting and gave a prep talk, encouraging student ambassadors to give full play to their affinity, leadership and innovation spirit, while fully interacting with students of Schwarzman College. The first student ambassador team is full of enthusiasm, leadership and creativity, versatility and has rich social work experience. The student ambassadors made information brochures and planned orienteering activities for Schwarzman Scholars, which fully demonstrate the all-round talents of Tsinghua students.
The event began with two joyful games, which enabled pleasant interactions between Schwarzman Scholars and student ambassadors. Tsinghua students prepared wonderful performances for the scholars, including the song Find Myself, performed by a student band (Huang Bin and Gao Ziqiang, postgraduate students from the Department of Automotive Engineering, Guo Yichen, doctoral student from the Department of Precision Instrument, and Chen Chenyu, postgraduate student from the Department of Chemical Engineering) and Chinese folk song Jasmine (performed by Meng Qing, doctoral student from the School of Social Sciences) and so on. Many Schwarzman Scholars also gave improvisational performances such as songs and folks dances from their home countries.
On behalf of student ambassadors, Zeng Liang, a doctoral student from the Department of Electronic Engineering of Tsinghua University, introduced the Student Ambassadors Program and extended welcome to Schwarzman Scholars during the event. The event was co-chaired by Schwarzman Scholar Max Song and Huang Xinxin, student ambassador from the School of Journalism and Communication.
The Student Ambassadors Program can not only better integrate Schwarzman Scholars into Tsinghua University, but also provide a platform for students of other schools and departments to broaden their international horizons.
Zhang Yupeng, doctoral student from the Department of Chemical Engineering, said he was very honored to become a student ambassador for the Schwarzman Scholars Program. During the short time spent with the scholars, he has already felt the unique “Honghuang” power within them – active thinking, great energy and clear goals. In addition to these shared characteristics, each of the scholars has their very own unique story to tell.
Tian Fuyao, postgraduate student from the School of Journalism and Communication, believed it is of great significance to know students from all over the world and to learn about cross-cultural communication. He said: "The scholars are very enthusiastic. They led us to visit the college, actively shared with us their field of study, learning experience, and asked us for advice on Chinese learning methods and daily life in Tsinghua. As Tsinghua students, we shall grow together with these friends who come from different parts of the world.”
Jiang Miaoling, a postgraduate student from the School of Social Sciences, noted that she was very fortunate to join the program. She said: "I met a lot of new friends at the event. When I first met the Schwarzman Scholars, I was impressed by their enthusiasm and energy as they are so full of curiosity, humor and versatility. The Schwarzman Scholars Program serves not only as a platform for the scholars to know China but also a window for us to see more of the world.”
Zhang Yu, head of the Student Ambassadors Program, said that the event went very well in bringing student ambassadors and Schwarzman Scholars together to understand China and explore the world, which was also an important part of cross-cultural communication and the internationalization strategy of Tsinghua University. She believed that through mutual learning, the students will forge deep friendships at Tsinghua University.
In the following year, student ambassadors and Schwarzman Scholars will participate in exchange seminars, learning and practice, cultural experience, entertainment and other activities together, which will not only broaden the international vision and strengthen the cross-cultural communication ability of student ambassadors, but also help the scholars from all over the world better explore and perceive China in an all-round manner.
