Confucius Institute at San Diego State University
Seventh Grader
Lakeside, California
Kamila Carter is a conscientious twelve-year-old student finishing the sixth grade at Tierra Del Sol Middle School in Lakeside, California.
She has been learning Mandarin Chinese for seven years since entering kindergarten at Riverview Elementary school.
One of her greatest accomplishments to date has been winning first place at the Chinese Bridge Competition, sponsored by the Confucius Institute at San Diego State. The Institute also sponsored Kamila’s first trip to China to experience the language and culture.
Her parents are deaf and use American Sign Language, Spanish and English when communicating with her. Kamila is fluent in all four languages and interprets for her parents in Sign Language.
Kamila is active in her school Associated Student Body (ASB) which does service work in her community. She is on the honor roll with a 4.0 GPA average and has earned many awards as an outstanding student.
Even though Kamila Carter doesn’t yet know what she will do professionally, she knows that whatever it is, it will impact the world in a positive way.
Confucius Institute at San Diego State University
Parent Teacher Association Officer and Proud Mother
San Diego, California
Love lives in San Diego with her husband and two children, Texas and India, who have been studying Chinese for five and two years respectively.
Love began her Chinese language adventure when her son was offered a trip to Beijing last summer, sponsored by the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University, to participate in the fifth annual ShenMo International Abacus Competition.
She took a parents’ introductory Chinese course for one year and is now able to introduce herself in Chinese, count to ten, and proficiently purchase high-end fashion in Beijing’s finer clothing stores.
Love is the newly-elected Vice President of her school’s Parent Teacher Association, to which she devotes an incalculable amount of time and energy.
Confucius Classroom at Shaker Heights High School
Freshman at The Ohio State University
Cleveland, Ohio
Ose Arheghan, 18, is a first-year student at The Ohio State University studying Political Science and Public Policy.
Ose graduated from Shaker Heights City Schools and was a member of the Shaker Heights Confucius Classroom in both middle and high school. Ose was awarded an Excellence in Chinese essay writing award from the Cleveland State Confucius Institute all four years of high school and managed to earn a third place overall medal senior year.
Ose is continuing their Chinese language learning at Ohio State and hopes to work with the foreign service upon graduation.
Confucius Institute at the University of Massachusetts - Boston
Language Learner and Tai Chi Enthusiast
Foxborough, Massachusetts
Howard Schaefer is a language learner, player of Tai Chi and Yoga, and caring community contributor. Howard first started learning to speak Mandarin Chinese in his teens, while studying Tai Chi. The core principles learned in Tai Chi, of doing your best, and knowing yourself, resonated in Howard’s college education and he excelled in courses ranging from Modern Physics and Organic Chemistry to Visual Arts Figure Studies and Modern Dance.
Currently, Howard enjoys performing analytical work, as well as helping individuals to overcome obstacles and experience better outcomes, predominately working in the employee benefits industry. Last summer, Howard revisited learning to speak Mandarin in anticipation of experiencing personal conversations with the Chinese people he hoped to meet during a trip to China, where he had accompanied his spouse in her teaching assignment at Shaanxi Normal University in Xi’an, China.
On his return from China, Howard continued studying conversational Chinese with the excellent teachers at the Confucius Institute of UMass Boston. The learning experience propelled Howard to become conversant in Spanish and Hebrew as well. Howard resides in Foxborough, MA, and hopes to use his language skills for the betterment of the community and the world.
Confucius Institute at Kentucky University
Senior at the University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Rachel Lietzow is a senior at the University of Kentucky majoring in International Economics, Chinese, and International Studies. As a Cantonese heritage speaker, Rachel has had a keen interest in foreign languages for as long as she can remember. Rachel was first exposed to Mandarin during high school, where she watched Taiwanese and Chinese-dubbed Korean dramas for entertainment. Though Cantonese and Mandarin are mutually unintelligible, she enjoyed watching Mandarin television programs and listening to Mandarin artists nonetheless. Over the years, this continual language exposure helped improve her Chinese skills and shaped her decision to major in Chinese.
Rachel studied abroad in Hangzhou, China during the summer after her freshman year, and has found even more about Chinese culture to love and appreciate. Her ultimate career goal is to serve as a Foreign Service Officer in a Chinese-speaking country or have the opportunity to work at the Chinese Embassy. Regardless of career path, she aspires to leave her own mark on U.S.-China relations, wherever she ends up.
Having played piano since she was young, Rachel has pursued a combination of music and Chinese culture in recent years, by learning to play erhu and Chinese zither. You usually can find Rachel listening to music, eating something sweet, or both.
Confucius Institute at George Mason University
Retired International Affairs Officer
Orlando, Florida
Dennis M. Delehanty received a B.A. in Russian from Colby College in 1974 and received an M.A. in Russian Studies/ International Affairs from George Washington University in 1978.
Dennis is fluent in Spanish and French and besides Russian, has extensive knowledge of Mandarin, Portuguese and German.
In 1979, Dennis entered U.S. Postal Service headquarters as a junior international affairs officer, and from 1986 to 1992, worked as the sole American at the Universal Postal Union in Bern, Switzerland, the only UN specialized agency where French remains the official language. Returning to the Postal Service in Washington, Dennis led the effort to create the UPU’s Express Mail Service Cooperative, a rare institution within the UN system where weighted voting applies. In 2004, Dennis was appointed Director of Postal Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, where he served as the principal official responsible for U.S. policy regarding international postal and delivery services.
During his career, Dennis has taken part in or led U.S. delegations to dozens of postal (and private-sector delivery service) conferences throughout the world and retired from government service in 2012.
Dennis had visited 80 countries, either solely for business or personal travel. Dennis’s choice of a dream career would one where he could help to improve relations between the American and Chinese peoples. Dennis and his wife Elizabeth currently reside in Lake Nona, a new town near Orlando, Florida.
Confucius Institute at North Carolina State University
Senior at George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
Deja Watkins, a graduate from William G. Enloe High School in Raleigh, NC, currently attends George Mason University. She is triple majoring in Global Affairs, Computational & Data Sciences, and Chinese; which she has been studying since 2011.
While at Enloe High School, Deja had the opportunity to participate in a Chinese summer language program sponsored by Troy University’s Confucius Institute. At Troy University, Deja met many enthusiastic teachers and friends, most of whom she is still in contact with today. With the support of friends and family, Deja decided to take the opportunity to push her studies further by studying abroad in China. While spending last year abroad studying at Tsinghua University, she participated in many cultural exchanges where she spoke to classes and traveled with many new friends around China.
In the future, Deja would like to be a data analyst and concurrently working to aid in the effort to bridge the gap between the US and China.
When Deja is not in class, she can be found at various events on campus as a Student Ambassador. If she’s not studying for her classes, she’s studying Chinese or improving her understanding of data and data analysis as it relates to international relations.
Confucius Institute at San Francisco State University
High School Freshman
Flower Mound, Texas
Amelia Engstrom is a 9th-grade scholar-athlete from Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, TX.
She studied Mandarin for 9 years and spent a month in China taking Mandarin classes and teaching English in the summer of 2018.
She is currently the editor of the Flower Mound High School Online Newspaper. Amelia also plays lacrosse on the local club lacrosse team. Amelia has participated in 4 community restoration trips to Middletown, CA, San Diego, CA and Oaxaca, Mexico.
She is interested in movie making and hopes to obtain a film degree from USC, after which she will focus on using her skills to make movies that matter.
Confucius Institute at Kentucky University
Media Producer and Writer
Wayne County, Kentucky
David Cole is a media producer and writer from Wayne County, Kentucky.
His independent production shop, Coled One Media Ventures, has served clients such as the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky World Language Association, and Breakout Games.
David’s written work took a productive turn after first visiting China in 2016 and he found himself writing in a number of European countries, even taking part in readings with poets such as Justin Samgar. His work deals with how our personal lives intersect with the media we consume and come to represent parts of ourselves, as evidenced in his debut poetry collection “I’ve Been a Prisoner All My Life (And I Can Say to You) OR Young Phill Collins in Love.” He currently lives and works in Lexington, Kentucky.
Confucius Institute at San Diego State University
Fifth Grader
San Diego, California
Texas is a fifth-grade student at Barnard Mandarin Magnet Elementary School in San Diego, California. He has been studying Mandarin Chinese in an immersion environment since kindergarten and has become skilled in many of the ancient arts of Confucianism thanks to his school’s partnership with the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University. His favorite activities are abacus, Go, Chinese chess, and dumpling-making.
What Texas loves most about learning Mandarin is the proficiency and confidence he has gained to talk with (and in front of) native speakers. In 2017, Texas traveled to Beijing with the Confucius Institute to compete in the fifth annual ShenMo International Abacus Competition in which he took second place. He gave several speeches in China, including one in front of 1,200+ people and another on live television. Texas enjoyed seeing the Yìshui Underground Grand Canyon in Shandong province and eating bāo zi while he was there.
Outside of school, Texas fences at Team Touché in San Diego is an active camper with the Ecke YMCA Adventure Guides and plays the piano. He likes to read, play with friends, and watch movies.
Additionally, Texas enjoys traveling with his family. He has been to 23 states, eight countries, and four continents. He hopes to travel the rest of the world before going to college.
Tony Culley-Foster brings 40 years of the extensive experience in the development, implementation and evaluation of innovative, creative and impactful American and international brand development, cause marketing and strategic communications (print, broadcast and new media, programs for diverse private, public and voluntary section organizations.
He has a lifelong commitment to global education, international affairs, corporate social responsibility, global communications, volunteerism, strategic partnerships, peace, and conflict resolution.
During his professional career Culley-Foster worked as a High School Teacher – London, England; Director of the Boys and Girls Club – Chicago; Director – International Federation of Keystone Youth Organizations; Personal Assistant – Founder and Chairman of AON Corporation (The world’s second largest risk insurance company); and Founding Director of The Congressional Award Foundation (The United States highest recognition award for American youth (age 14/23). Reported to the joint congressional leadership.
In 1986 he established CFCO International Washington, DC-based international business consulting to provide professional support services to the service management of European, Middle Eastern and Asian companies; The World Bank and IMF; plus, the leadership of two foreign nations.
From 2015 to 2017, Culley-Foster undertook a three-year sabbatical from CFCO International to serve as the President and CEO of the World Affairs Council – Washington DC and established a strategic partnership with the Confucius Institute U.S. Center.
He has profiled been in Who’s Who in The World since 1995; Visiting Professor in Communications, University of Ulster; Board member of the Illinois Institute of Technology – Stuart School of Business – Chicago; Member of the National Press Club – Washington DC and recipient of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh’s – Gold Award; Involved with the Olympic Games since 1980; National Honor Award – Olympic Council of Ireland; Honorary – Congressional Award – Board Member; International Voluntary Leadership Award – Ulster Unionist Party – North Ireland; Co-founder – Todays Ireland Television – USA; Founding chairman of the North Ireland Partnership and North Ireland – U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Recipient of the Founders Award – World Affairs Council – Washington DC; and has earned Numerous American and international communications for voluntary service social responsibility and global education and contribution to peace in Ireland.
Founded in 1926, China Institute (CI) is the oldest bi-cultural organization in the United States focused exclusively on China. It is a resource for “all things China” – Chinese language, art, culture and business. James Heimowitz brings to CI 35 years of experience in building trust and understanding between China and the U.S.
James went to China as a student before it opened to the West, and has formed deep relationships in China over several decades. His background, education, and on-the-ground professional experience have come together to create a unique insight into some of the country’s most important initiatives. Prior to joining CI, James spent nine years at Hill + Knowlton Strategies where he was CEO for Asia, and Chairman, China. He spearheaded international PR for the Beijing Olympics; managed financial communications for the first RMB denominated IPO in Hong Kong; and advised many of the most successful MNC’s and JV’s in the region including helping Chinese companies and SOEs face the challenges of entering new overseas markets.
After earning his MBA from the Wharton School, Mr. Heimowitz joined the Chase Manhattan Bank and led its successful re-entry to China. He opened a representative office in Shanghai and a branch in Tianjin - the bank’s first in China since 1949. Mr. Heimowitz also served as Managing Director for Corporate Strategy at Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank and Manager of the Boston Consulting Group’s World Wide Asia Team.
James is a well-known speaker and author, and his articles have appeared in The Economist, China Daily, The Far Eastern Economic Review, Business Traveller, and the Canada-China Business Review. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on its Independent Economic Task Force on China, which is charged with delivering policy advice to the White House. He is also a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations and sits on numerous boards of companies in the media, technology and China sectors.
Andrea McCarren brings more than 30 years of experience in local and national television news to her media training sessions with corporate executives, diplomats, and non-profits. In addition to on-camera training, she teaches clients how to use social media to maximize their message and develop an active, engaged following.
Andrea’s reporting has been honored with 22 Emmy Awards, three Edward R. Murrow Awards and dozens of national and local honors. In 2006, Andrea was awarded the prestigious Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, where she developed and taught the first multimedia/broadcast journalism courses in Harvard history.
Her career includes covering the Clinton White House for ABC News, where she traveled weekly with the President on Air Force One. Andrea has served as a national correspondent for NBC News, covering the White House, Pentagon, and Capitol Hill. She worked as a local reporter and news anchor in Miami, Portland, Oregon, Wichita, and Savannah.
Andrea began her journalism career as a researcher for CBS News in its London bureau. She’s currently an investigative reporter and producer for WUSA9 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Daniel J. Julius is the Senior Vice President and Provost at New Jersey City University and Adjunct Professor in the Higher Education Program at New York University.
In past years he has been an affiliated faculty member at the Cornell University Higher Education Research Institute and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley. He has also been affiliated as a lecturer or Visiting Scholar at the University of Toronto and ILO in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Julius has served as the Academic Vice President/Provost in three institutions/systems; in Alaska, Illinois and New Jersey, a Land Grant system, private liberal arts university and comprehensive state university.
He has been affiliated with three Confucius Institutes in his role as chief academic officer.
He holds an undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University, studied at Cornell University (ILR), and earned a masters and doctorate at Columbia University. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship as a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Organizations Research at Stanford University.
Rep. Matt Salmon, who represented the 5th District of Arizona for five terms in Washington, joined Arizona State University as Vice President of Government Affairs in 2017. Salmon oversees the University’s Federal, State, Community, and Tribal relations, putting his years of experience as a state and federal lawmaker to work on behalf of an institution that is committed to the economic, social and cultural health of the communities that it serves.
Salmon attended public school in Mesa, Arizona and graduated from ASU in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in English literature and holds a Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University. He spent 13 years in the telecommunications industry in Arizona, before being elected to the Arizona State Senate, where he rose to assistant majority leader and chairman of the Rules Committee before his election to Congress in 1994.
Salmon served three terms before honoring a self-imposed term limit, leaving Congress in 2000, at which time he worked as a consultant to ASU on matters related to education policy. He returned to Congress in 2012 and was re-elected in 2014. Salmon was a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and he speaks fluent Mandarin. Salmon has served as chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and as chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and he has led numerous delegations to China. At ASU, Salmon assists the university in advancing its global strategy, including working with the governments of other countries to advance international projects.
He and his wife, Nancy, have been married for 36 years and are the proud parents of four children and the proud grandparents of eight grandchildren.
Rick Custer is a Communications and Marketing consultant with the Confucius Institute U.S. Center.
Rick has a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, and he brings to CIUS more than 30 years of experience in managing comprehensive marketing communications and publications programs in higher education, nonprofit associations, for-profit businesses, and public policy institutes.
In his role as Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing at George Mason University, Rick was responsible for providing general leadership and coordination of all staff operations related to the development of communications and marketing strategies, university publications, photography, videography, and websites.
His experience includes managing organizational change and practical knowledge of issues, politics, and decision-making in higher education and nonprofit associations.
Confucius Institute at George Mason University
Foreign Language Professor
Washington, DC
Dr. Monika Hoffarth-Zelloe has been a foreign language professor for more than two decades.
She received her Ph.D. in Foreign Language Teaching from the University of Würzburg, Germany, in 1988, and is currently a German Language Proficiency Examiner at the Goethe-Institut Washington.
She has traveled to all seven continents. After her first trip to China in 2010, Dr. Hoffarth-Zelloe decided to study Chinese (Mandarin) as her seventh foreign language at the Confucius Institute at George Mason University.
Since then, she has dedicated much of her time to the Institute, facilitating positive dialogue between China and the United States. Dr. Hoffarth-Zelloe also works as a cross-cultural outreach consultant and is incredibly passionate about cultural exchange between people of different countries.
Confucius Institute at UMass Boston
Retired Administrative Judge
Boston, Massachusetts
Douglas McDonald is a retired administrative judge from Boston, MA who has recently joined the Confucius Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Boston to tackle yet another language.
A life-long polyglot, Doug is proficient in several languages, including Latin, Greek, French, and German. For two years he lived in Baghdad, Iraq, where he taught sociology at Al-Hikma University, and studied Arabic.
Doug believes that learning a language is critical to understanding a culture. He has been heavily involved in his Confucius Institute, attending the 2018 National Chinese Language Conference in Salt Lake City, UT, and several other local CI initiatives.
Learning and becoming proficient in Mandarin has been a lifelong ambition for Doug, and the Confucius Institute at UMass Boston is providing a solid foundation.
Confucius Institute at North Carolina State University
High School Senior
Saluda, North Carolina
Sadie Allen is a seventeen-year-old student, writer, and artist from Saluda, North Carolina.
She is currently a rising senior at Polk County High School, where she just completed her sixth year of studying the Chinese language and culture through her school system in partnership with the Confucius Institute at North Caroline State University.
When she is not in the classroom, you can find her volunteering at her local library, where she is the president of a Teen Advisory Group and a sitting member on the Friends of the Library Board.
She has also run a personal blog for the past four years, where she writes about her travels, experiences, and anything else she finds fascinating.
Sadie has participated in the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio to better her poetry writing as well. She fills her leftover time with playing guitar, painting, and enjoying the world around her.
Sadie hopes to major in Journalism or International Relations and minor in Chinese language when she attends university next fall.
Confucius Institute at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln
High School Junior
Omaha, Nebraska
Trinity Lewis, 16 years old, attends Omaha Northwest High Magnet School.
She has studied and admired Chinese culture for most of her life and seeks to be fluent in Mandarin Chinese before her scheduled trip to China next year with the Confucius Institute at The University of Nebraska.
Trinity is a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo, practicing the art since she was 6 years old. She is also an accomplished clarinet player, performing with many honor bands and receiving multiple All-City awards.
Trinity is president of her high school DECA club and is a candidate for state leadership. She is a member of the student council as we as a member of the National Honor Society.
Recently, Trinity was accepted into the world-recognized Henry Dorley Zoo Academy, where she will attend classes and work hand-in-hand with zoo officials to protect and preserve endangered wildlife.
She plans to use the years of wildlife training to assist Chinese zoos and wildlife preserves in finding a way to save species, such as the Leaf Turtle, from extinction.
Confucius Institute at SUNY College of Optometry
High School Biology and Chemistry Teacher
Marlton, New Jersey
Kayla Raden is a high school biology and chemistry teacher from New Jersey.
Kayla spent a year teaching science at an international high school in Shanghai, China and traveled to several cities in China during her time abroad.
While in China, she fell in love with the Chinese language and began to study the characters and learn conversational Chinese from friends.
Upon returning to the United States, Kayla joined the Confucius Institute at SUNY College of Optometry and found her Shanghai here at home. She has studied and passed HSK levels 1, 2, and 3 in under 6 months.
In the future, Kayla hopes to use her passion for language learning and science to continue teaching students from around the world.
Confucius Institute at San Diego State University
Seventh Grader
Lakeside, California
Kamila Carter is a conscientious twelve-year-old student finishing the sixth grade at Tierra Del Sol Middle School in Lakeside, California.
She has been learning Mandarin Chinese for seven years since entering kindergarten at Riverview Elementary school.
One of her greatest accomplishments to date has been winning first place at the Chinese Bridge Competition, sponsored by the Confucius Institute at San Diego State. The Institute also sponsored Kamila’s first trip to China to experience the language and culture.
Her parents are deaf and use American Sign Language, Spanish and English when communicating with her. Kamila is fluent in all four languages and interprets for her parents in Sign Language.
Kamila is active in her school Associated Student Body (ASB) which does service work in her community. She is on the honor roll with a 4.0 GPA average and has earned many awards as an outstanding student.
Even though Kamila Carter doesn’t yet know what she will do professionally, she knows that whatever it is, it will impact the world in a positive way.
Confucius Institute at San Diego State University
Parent Teacher Association Officer and Proud Mother
San Diego, California
Love lives in San Diego with her husband and two children, Texas and India, who have been studying Chinese for five and two years respectively.
Love began her Chinese language adventure when her son was offered a trip to Beijing last summer, sponsored by the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University, to participate in the fifth annual ShenMo International Abacus Competition.
She took a parents’ introductory Chinese course for one year and is now able to introduce herself in Chinese, count to ten, and proficiently purchase high-end fashion in Beijing’s finer clothing stores.
Love is the newly-elected Vice President of her school’s Parent Teacher Association, to which she devotes an incalculable amount of time and energy.