Two Cal State Northridge Students Receive Award to Study in China

The Chinese Government Scholarship Council has awarded two Cal State Northridge students full scholarships to study in China during the 2005-2006 academic year.

Sean Hill and Patric McInnis, students in Northridge's Theatre Department were awarded scholarships to study at the Central Academy of Theatre Arts in Beijing based on their interests in China and Chinese culture, their academic performance and recommendations from their professors.

Hill will study directing and McInnis will pursue performance arts while attending the Beijing university. Both students also will serve as ambassadors of friendship for CSUN and for the United States.

The award will fund the students' tuition and housing, and will provide them with a stipend to support living expenses for the academic year.

"The goal of the scholarship is to further promote exchange, friendship, understanding and collaboration between the U.S. and China," said Justine Su, director of CSUN's China Institute.

The Central Academy of Theatre Arts is among the top theatre performing arts institutions in China and serves as alma mater to many famous Chinese performers including Zhang Ziyi, the Oscar-winning actress from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

During his studies in China, Hill hopes to master the art of theatre in both Western and Eastern perspectives. He also expects to gain a better understanding of the Chinese culture, traditions and people while defining his own beliefs, he said.

"While enhancing my appreciation for theatre and its skills and knowledge," Hill said, "I hope to bring back to the United States a unique and new perspective I will be able to utilize further down the road."

McInnis views the scholarship as an avenue to explore Buddhism and his interest in martial arts, while developing his performance skills by learning the ideals of Chinese actors, he said.

Within the past 20 years, CSUN's extensive ties and collaborative relationships with China through the university's China Institute have made the university's students front-runners for the Los Angeles-based Chinese Consulate General scholarships.

Hill's and McInnis' scholarships make the seventh year in a row that Cal State Northridge students have been chosen as Chinese Government Scholarship Council award recipients. Eight other Northridge students have received the award, many of whom are still studying and working in China.

Northridge's China Institute has established relationships with more than 40 Chinese higher education institutions and government agencies and have trained more than 200 Chinese scholars within the past 10 years.

Cal State Northridge established the China Institute in 1982. The institute aims to promote better understanding of the Chinese culture and to strengthen friendship between the American and Chinese people. In more than 20 years Northridge's China Institute has played host to hundreds of Chinese scholars and has been influential in arranging dozens of education and cultural exchange programs between China and the United States. For more information about the institute, visit its Web site at www.csunchinainstitute.org.

Contact:
Marc Tolentino or Carmen Ramos Chandler, (818) 677-2130, marc.n.tolentino@csun.edu