Oct. 17, UIC – Students who had participated in the summer programs this year shared their experience with the rest of the College at a Conclusion Meeting organized by the Whole Person Education Office today.
In the summer of 2007, UIC organized a series of Whole Person Education programs such as the trip to Qinghai and Tibet, the voluntary service in Yunnan and Guizhou, the cultural exchange program in Japan, the traditional Chinese culture study camp at Lushan Mountain, and the Minnesota study tour. At the Conclusion Meeting, Student representatives of the programs gave presentations with photos and videos to share with the audience what they learnt from the trip and their own understanding to the Whole Person Education approach.
Students who came back from the trip to Qinghai and Tibet divided into three groups for their presentations, namely the voluntary service group, the mountain climbing group and the environmental study group. Demonstrated by photos and delivered with enthusiasm, their presentations brought to the audience their touching experience of teaching in Qinghai and Tibet, the shocking power of nature they felt when climbing the Yuzhu Mountain and their concerned about the environment in the Qinghai and Tibet region.
Following the presentation of the Qinghai and Tibet Program was a report delivered by the students from the Japan Cultural Exchange Program. The foreign flavor that they added to the report attracted many students who were interested in Japanese culture.
Students of the Minnesota Study Tour introduced their tour by presenting a creative DIY electronic magazine. 25 students were warmly received by five Minnesota colleges during the five-week program. They studied in a completely different cultural setting there, and saw many new things around. Their presentation broadened the horizon of the students who had never been abroad before.
Having come back from the nine-day Lushan Study Camp, members of the camp presented their trip with an elegant and humanistic sentiment. They talked about the beautiful views on the road, the great figures they commemorated during their trip and their productive study with masters of traditional Chinese culture. The camp was an effort to pass down the Chinese tradition and culture to the younger generation, maintaining the vitality and preserving the quintessence of Confucianism.
Executive Vice President Prof. Kwok Siu Tong delivered a speech on the importance of the Whole Person Education Summer Program at the meeting. He emphasized that as students receiving the Whole Person Education, it was necessary for them to take part in the summer experiential programs. He said the two-month summer holiday was an important time for the first year and second year students to gain experience of the real world, which could prepare them to make better choices for their future development in the third year. He encouraged the students in the second year to take every opportunity available to go abroad and see the world outside. And in order to make better use of the opportunities, he suggested the students to make preparations in the first year.
The summer programs were rewarding, giving the students a chance to ponder the underlying meaning of life and transformed their living attitude. Students who didn’t join the programs this year hoped that they could join next year, and those who had come back from the trip said that they hoped the College could provide more choices for them in future.
The Conclusion Meeting lasted about four hours. There was also a summer program photo gallery to display the excellent works collected in the UIC Whole Person Education Summer Program Photography Competition.
The Conclusion Meeting marked the end of the 2007 Whole Person Education Summer Program. The College will continue to improve the program for next summer to provide more exciting activities for UIC students.
Student Journalist: Deng Weijun/ Dong Jiajie
