Scholarly Pursuits

Greyson Mann ’14 spent four years looking forward to walking across the stage at Wofford’s recent graduation – “the single most important weekend in a college student’s career” – but he missed it.

He doesn’t regret it, though. Instead, the Chinese and government major from Laurel, Md., was attending a mandatory orientation session for his next big thing – a two-year teaching fellowship with Princeton in Asia (PiA), a Princeton University-affiliated program aimed at promoting the free interchange of the best ideals of the civilizations of both East and West.

“I had to tell myself I’ve already given up so much for my dreams, I just can’t stop now,” Mann says.

He immersed himself into his studies – especially Chinese language and culture – while at Wofford and wants to continue that focus. 

“All four years of college have led to this appointment,” he says. “Whether it was my Chinese language and government studies, or my extracurricular activities here at Wofford, I always focused on fostering greater understanding for international issues.”

Mann got his first taste of Asia when, after graduating from Fork Union Military Academy, he and his best friend took a summer trip to Shanghai, where he will be going with PiA. “He introduced me to Chinese culture and helped spark the passion I have had the past four years for learning the language and understanding its culture.”

Since then, he has remained immersed, including studying abroad in China last spring with the Middlebury language program. “It was an amazing experience that pushed my academic abilities to their limit,” Mann says. “However, I began to immerse myself and study so much that I actually neglected my own health. If it wasn’t for the care of a Wofford friend’s father, who was a native of Beijing, I might not have recovered so quickly and continued to achieve all that I did.”

The experience demonstrated the sort of kindness Mann says he’s experienced in China and was part of the reason he always will be passionate about improving Chinese and U.S. relations, one person at a time.
  
“I don’t think I ever had just one moment when I realized that the Princeton in Asia program was an ideal opportunity for me to pursue,” he explains. “It honestly just always felt right, and the natural progression of my studies.”
Mann says PiA looks for “passionate and adventurous candidates” for its fellowships, and he believes his passion for influencing personal health and wellness issues in China was among the reasons he was selected. 

“Throughout my travels in China I have been shown immeasurable courtesy, which has made my travels smoother and arguably even saved my life once or twice,” he says. “These experiences also have helped me gain a greater sense of self-understanding, because I have been forced to break my comfort barrier.”

At the end of their initial two-year tenure with PiA, every fellow is eligible to apply for a $10,000 grant, with which Mann would like to open a Western-style health center.
  
“I have noticed that the physical, mental and emotional stress of Chinese students is taking an extremely negative toll on youth, and even leading to suicide in extreme cases,” he says, adding that he envisions a health center with a gym, counseling and other resources needed to relax and gain both mental and physical stability. 

Mann says he likely will be teaching language arts in both English and Chinese, and perhaps coaching sports while at the YK Poa School in Shanghai. 

“PiA will be an amazing two-year experience that will help me continue to improve my Chinese language ability and knowledge of the culture,” he says. “The PiA experience also should help me improve my resume and gain acceptance to a top-tier graduate school for international relations in two years.”

He praised Dr. Li Qing Kinnison, associate professor of Chinese studies; Dr. John Farrenkopf, professor of government; and Dr. William DeMars, professor and chair of the department of government, with contributing to his “pursuit, success and decision to participate in PiA.” 

Fulbright Teaching Assistant Program

David Moore ’13 and Anna Le ’13 have known each other for years – they were neighbors who met in the second grade and graduated from Paul M. Dorman High School in Spartanburg, S.C. District 6.

Now, they’ll be neighbors, of sorts, again as they both take 2014-15 English Teaching Assistant Program assignments this fall in Asia through the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Moore, a triple major in chemistry, mathematics and German and a Richardson Scholar, was the college’s 29th Presidential International Scholar. He will go to South Korea on the Fulbright. 

At Wofford, Moore studied abroad in Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Italy and South Korea. He conducted research in nuclear chemistry during an internship in Germany at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz and at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Currently, he is completing an internship in Chicago. Moore will attend Rice University following the completion of his Fulbright assignment.

Le, who will go to Vietnam under the program, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa while at Wofford, where she majored in chemistry and was on the Dean’s List every semester. She was the recipient of the Arthur B. and Ida Maie S. Rivers Award at Wofford in 2013, and she studied abroad in Vietnam, Italy and Chile. 

Le spent the past year attending Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. She plans to attend medical school at Tulane University after her Fulbright assignment is completed.