Mark Schaefer

Introduction: I have been learning Mandarin Chinese for almost a decade. I earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Minzu University of China in Beijing to participate in an academic research program on rural Chinese education. I studied at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan from September 2015 to February 2016, taking classes solely in Mandarin with local Taiwanese students. I won the Jiangsu Cup Speech Competition co-hosted by Nanjing University and The George Washington University in 2013. In 2015, I won the Chinese Bridge Speech Competition hosted through the Chinese government for the US mid-Atlantic region, with seven states represented. I was invited to participate in the World Chinese Bridge Speech Competition in China that same year. As a student in the Chinese Language and Literature department at the George Washington University, I was selected as the department's first student since its establishment to complete an honors thesis. I have an intrinsic love for the Chinese language. From when I first encountered in almost 10 years ago, I have fallen deeper and deeper in love with its structure and complexities. I hope to bridge the gap between two vastly different languages and cultures.