Sophomore packs bags for immersive summer in China

Baker College’s Schellhammer awarded a Critical Language Scholarship

Rice student Sophie Schellhammer will spend two months studying in China this summer as the winner of a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS).

Sophie Schellhammer will spend two months studying in China this summer as the winner of a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS).

The CLS Program is an overseas language and cultural immersion program for American students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities. Schellhammer’s scholarship covers all costs except passport fees and medical exams.

“It was really unexpected and exciting to receive this award,” said Schellhammer, who is the 17th Rice student to participate in the program. “There is only so far one can get learning a language within the classroom. I’m excited to see how my Mandarin will improve after being fully immersed for eight weeks.”

Schellhammer, a Baker College sophomore majoring in Asian studies and philosophy, will fly to Washington, D.C., June 11 for a two-day orientation before traveling to Changchun, the capital of northeast China’s Jilin province, where she will take language and cultural classes.

“Sophie is an exemplary and outstanding Asian studies student who is not afraid of learning new, different things, works hard to attain her goals and is strongly committed to academic excellence,” said Sonia Ryang, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Asian Studies and director of the Chao Center for Asian Studies. “I am so excited with this opportunity Sophie has earned for herself, since I’m certain she will use this toward pursuing her career goal working as a leader in the field of her choice.”

Schellhammer’s trip to Changchun will mark her third visit to China. While in high school, her experience during a four-week internship at a rural Chinese hospital served as the inspiration for her college application essay.

“I actually started taking Chinese in middle school, and China and Chinese language have been strong interests of mine for a long time,” said Schellhammer, who is from Dayton, Ohio, and speaks Mandarin along with English and her mother’s native German, her first language. “When I got to Rice, I started taking Asian studies classes with a focus on transnational studies. It’s an interesting way to learn more about China by looking at it through the context of other Asian countries.”

A pre-med student, Schellhammer hopes to use these interests in her future career.

“I am interested in medicine and bioethics and hope to do something in global or public health,” she said. “It would be a dream to live in China at some point – that’s the goal. Or to live in a place where I could combine Mandarin and public health.”

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the CLS Program is part of an initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering foreign languages that are critical to national security and economic prosperity.