Spirit of Chinese
Senior Scholarship Award
Thursday, September 23, 2021 6:00pm
The CHI-PAC Spirit of Chinese Scholarship is awarded to a Forest Hills Public Schools Mandarin
Chinese Immersion student who fulfills all of the requirements of the award as set forth below. The
accomplishments of the students who apply for this scholarship will not be based on their Chinese
language grade, but will be based on their ability to communicate how learning Mandarin Chinese
through the FHPS Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program has enriched his or her life or how they see
having the language benefit them in the future. CHI-PAC is offering a $500 scholarship to the student who demonstrates the true “Spirit of Chinese,” by being a well-rounded student who embraces their Chinese Immersion journey and anticipates the opportunities that may be afforded to them after over a decade of Chinese scholarship. A $500 cash award will be given to the Scholarship
recipient.
Congratulations!
Introducing $500 Spirit of Chinese Scholarship Winner, Senior Sophia M!
2021 Spirit of Chinese Winner
2021 Scholarship
The three seniors chosen as finalists this 2021 year all happen to be non-native speakers, raised in homes where Chinese is not spoken.
All qualifying FHPS/WMU Chinese Immersion Juniors interested in the scholarship were asked to prepare two essays: 1) an essay written in Chinese characters, along with an English translation; and 2) a short answer response, written in English. They were also asked to submit another written piece from their previous Chinese work, completed in grades 7-11, of which they are especially proud. In addition to the evaluation of all three of their written submissions by our judges, the final step of the scholarship competition is to participate in a real-time presentation in front of our panel of judges. Each finalist presented their submitted Chinese essay, read aloud in Chinese on Thursday, September 23 via Zoom.
Scholarhip Underwriter, Judge
Dr. Ying Zeng, Director of Asian Initiatives at WMU
Lily Langen, CHI-PAC President
Scholarship Award Details
Eligibility:
A. Current, enrolled student in the Western Michigan University/Forest Hills Public Schools
Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program at Forest Hills Northern High School;
B. Will have completed four semesters in the WMU/FHPS Mandarin Chinese Immersion
Program by the application deadline; AND
C. Will be classified as a Senior at FHN by application deadline.
Requirements:
A. Fill out the application form
B. Submit a handwritten or typed essay of up to 500 words in Chinese characters, along
with an English translation on a separate page, responding to one of two prompts (see
CHINESE RESPONSE section)
C. Submit a response of 250 words or less to the short answer section in English,
responding to one of two prompts (see ENGLISH RESPONSE section)
D. Include a sample of student’s past Chinese work of which student is especially proud,
taken from when student was in 7th – 11th grades (submission may be in essay, audio,
video or artwork form), along with an English explanation of why you chose this piece of
your past work
E. Apply by the deadline stated on the application form
F. If selected, finalists will present their Chinese essay orally to a panel of native Chinese
speaking judges
G. All entries will become the intellectual property of FHPS Mandarin Chinese Immersion
Program and may be used for promotional purposes
H. Drop off or mail your completed application form, both essays (including English
translation of Chinese essay), and a copy (or digital file in the case of audio or video) of
your past work to:
CHI-PAC Spirit of Chinese Scholarship
c/o Forest Hills Public Schools Administration
6590 Cascade Road SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Envelope must be dropped off at the Administration Building or postmarked by August
31, 2021, to be eligible for this scholarship. Entries will not be returned.
I. Email CHI-PAC at chipac.info@gmail.com so we may be on the lookout for your
submission.
Timeline:
A. Scholarship application launch: May 21, 2021
B. Application Deadline: August 31, 2021 (turned into Administration office or postmarked
by August 31, 2021)
C. Finalists notified of second round (speech in front of judges): September 13, 2021
D. Speeches presented: week of September 20, 2021
E. Scholarship recipient announced and $500 cash award presented: week of September
27, 2021