MAWRTER RECEIVES $5K SCHOLARSHIP FOR JUNIOR YEAR ABROAD

Mary Angela Lagdameo '05 of Howell , N.J. , has been awarded a Freeman Asia Scholarship to study in Beijing for the spring semester. Lagdameo plans to study at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, known as Beiwai. She hopes to live with Chinese students during her time abroad and plans to take an intensive language course in Mandarin that meets for four hours each day.

"I hope to broaden my knowledge of Chinese culture and history and improve my Mandarin language skills," said Lagdameo. "I plan to apply for an internship program to experience the community or educational environment of the country and to use English and Chinese as a literal and cultural translator between the Eastern and Western cultures."

Last summer Lagdameo, an East Asian Studies major, took a Mandarin course in a language-immersion environment at the Middlebury Summer Language School at Middlebury College.

The scholarship grant of $5,000 was made by the Freeman Foundation as part of a program designed to increase the number of American undergraduates who study in East and Southeast Asia. The program is intended to support students who have little or no first-hand experience of the country where they will study. Scholarship winners are expected to share their experiences with their home campuses when they return to the U.S. to encourage study abroad by others and to increase the understanding of Asia in their home communities. Lagdameo plans to discuss her experience of international study with students at Bryn Mawr College and possibly return to her high school to talk about her time in China.

After her college graduation, Lagdameo plans to return to China to teach English and begin work toward her Ph.D.

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