Asia/Us Exchange Program

http://viaprograms.org/

This fellowship, administered jointly by VIA and the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford, sends two graduating seniors or recent alumni to teach at the Ouyang Yu Experimental Middle School in Xintang Town, Hunan Province, China. Dr. Huang, a prominent engineer and entrepreneur, founded this rural middle school to raise the quality of education in Hunan, his native province. Fellows experience life in a rural area of China – one which is becoming more unique as China’s modernization continues to unfold – and are given the opportunity to learn more about an area of China that most foreigners will never get to see firsthand.

Fellowships are for one year, with the opportunity to extend for a second year if desired. Fellows depart for Asia in early August to join other volunteers for cross-cultural training. In addition to teaching English to middle school students at Ouyang Yu, fellows receive $1,000 to design and implement a series of service projects aimed at benefiting the school and local community.

Previous service projects have included a student English magazine, an English Resource room, a tree-planting campaign, student scholarships, eyeglasses for students in need, and the development and production of a Hepatitis B education pamphlet geared towards young adults.

The fellowship benefits include:

  • Waived VIA program fee ($2,000) and overseas insurance fee
  • Up to $1,000 for a ticket to VIA’s training in Asia
  • Up to $1,000 for a return airline ticket after successfully completing the fellowship
  • Four weeks of training and orientation
  • Foreign language classes during training and at your post
  • Support from VIA staff in Asia Participation in a mid-year conference
  • A local living stipend is offered through in-kind contributions from our Asian host organization
  • $1,000 funding for a service project
  • The total value of the fellowship is approximately $13,000.

Fellow responsibilities:

  • Attend virtual pre-departure training sessions
  • Attend the month-long trainings in Asia and mid-year conference
  • Participate in VIA’s annual crowdfunding scholarship campaign
  • Design and create three small photo or video projects and a plan to share your experience with an external audience
  • Design and create a service project that is implemented at the school

To apply: In addition to your one-year fellowship application, please address the following two questions (500 words or less for each question):

1. Describe what values are most important to you and how you intend to make them a part of your fellowship experience.

2. Describe why you want to work at the OYY school.

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