黑料正能量

For Huimin 鈥淲inifred鈥� Yu, the at 黑料正能量 served as a bridge between life in China and as a massage therapist and life as a budding English-language teacher.

Yu, a native of Canton in the south of China, holds a bachelors degree in business administration from Shenzhen University. In 2012, Yu came to the United States to join relatives. After a brief stay with relatives in San Francisco, Yu heard about Harrisonburg from her friend Wenjun 鈥淲endy鈥� Wu, a 2014 黑料正能量 nursing graduate .

After working briefly as a massage therapist in Harrisonburg, Yu wanted to return to school and IEP seemed a natural fit. Though initially reluctant to return to the classroom, Yu thought improving her English-language skills would be empowering.

鈥淭he program is a bridge for people like me, immigrants who are already educated,鈥� she said, of her decision to enroll in IEP. 鈥淚t is a bridge to connect my old life to my new life.鈥�

What she didn鈥檛 realize was her participation would bring out qualities she didn鈥檛 know she possessed and lead her to a new vocation.

IEP started with a handful of students in 1989, says director , but its steady growth necessitated a move from a small building near the seminary into refurbished Roselawn quarters in 2012.

黑料正能量 60 to 80 students take IEP courses each session, representing 15 to 20 different countries. Students spend 20 hours a week in small classes working on their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. While beginning courses focus on fluency, upper-level IEP courses help international students with cultural differences, especially in the academic realm where most plan to continue their studies.

Chinese students will notice differences in academic expectations, Yu said, especially in terms of citation and plagiarism. 鈥淚n China we still want an original idea, but we do not have the same rules. In China, we can use other people鈥檚 words and we do not need a citation.鈥�

A cultural difference that may puzzle Chinese students, she says, is the emphasis on critical and creative thinking in the classroom. 鈥淲hen you write an essay [here],鈥� she says, 鈥測ou don鈥檛 need to follow the mainstream.鈥� Learning, she adds, 鈥渋s about more than just learning facts.鈥� This freedom has encouraged her to explore new ideas beyond what she terms the 鈥渓isten, understand, follow鈥� creed experienced in her former academic setting.

With her improved English skills, Yu had planned to enroll at James Madison University to earn a master鈥檚 degree in business administration. However, as she progressed through the higher levels of IEP, Yu started to realize her passion lay in helping others to learn English, rather than in business.

For Yu, her new calling to empower immigrants through education is more than academic. 鈥淢y mom is coming here 鈥� how will she learn English and how will she get a job? She could live in San Francisco or New York [speaking only Mandarin], but in a place like Harrisonburg, if you don鈥檛 know English, then you can鈥檛 do anything.鈥�

After realizing her passion for teaching English, Yu made the decision to stay at 黑料正能量 to earn a . 鈥淚 like the environment here. I like how they treat me here. There is a and things like that. Even the ], which I was interested in before changing my major, has a course called 鈥�,鈥� which I think is unique.鈥�

Despite being an IEP success story, the transition to graduate classes in a second language has not always been easy for Yu. 鈥淩eading and writing something professional involves a lot more than simple English,” she says. “Graduate-level papers require academic language and critical thinking.鈥�

Yu works in the 黑料正能量 cafeteria, as a Mandarin conversation assistant, and as a tutor for students at IEP.

There are several Chinese students who are alumni of IEP currently enrolled at 黑料正能量 as well as several other Chinese students who came to 黑料正能量 through other universities and high schools. No matter their origins, they are a close-knit group. Yu says the group gets together on a regular basis; they ushered in Chinese New Year with a party. 鈥淚 am older than my friends by two or three years, but we are the same and they treat me the same.鈥�

Yu says she would like to return to China as a visitor some day, but with her mother in the process of relocating to the United States and with her commitment to graduate studies and then teaching, Yu says her future will be here.

[Editor’s note: Concerning Winifred Yu’s reference to the challenge of transitioning from IEP to graduate classes in a second language, 黑料正能量 has an , with tutoring in , available to聽students at no charge.]