Embassy program

PLU program guides Chinese students transitioning to English education

Elizabeth Anderson - andersej@plu.edu

Mast International Intern

Founded in 2006, the Embassy program takes students and develops their reading and writing skills in English as a Second Language classes.

The program is made up of a very diverse group with student ages ranging anywhere from 16 to 60 years old and students from countries like Mongolia and Albania that are not usually represented at PLU.

There are three different categories of students in the program: certificate, diploma and transition.

Certificate students usually come for about a week. Last week, 60 students were enrolled in the certificate program. The diploma students come from international universities, stay for about six to nine months and return to their respective schools shortly after graduating. Transition students also come for an extended period of time and hope to enroll in PLU classes after they finish the program.

“The biggest stakeholders are the transition students,” said Embassy director Jeff Bialy.

Embassy transition student Chenyu Xu is a computer engineering major from China and enjoys being able to discuss politics so freely, a new thing for him.

“I like talking about politics,” Xu said. “It’s not something I do in China.”

Embassy transition student Cara Wu has also been impressed with the program so far. Wu is already a nurse in China and hopes to eventually enroll in the PLU nursing program.

“The English classes here are much better here than in China,” Wu said.

Many students like Wu stay with host families, but some also live alone or with others off campus. PLU also owns a house for Embassy students. PLU junior Greg Burgess is the resident advisor for this off-campus house.

“People need to know about these students. I had no idea they were here,” Burgess said.

The university has already contributed greatly to the success of the Embassy program, but a greater level of integration will occur when the Embassy program moves into the UC this summer.