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Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
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            Three Shawnee State University Teacher Education students, Amy Armes, Jenny Remington and Kristin Wilson, will be teaching in China Fall Semester at three different schools. All the schools are in the city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. Guangzhou is the third most populous metropolitan area in China with nearly 8.5 million people, although some estimates are more than 15 million.
            Dr. Xiaodan Huang, professor in Teacher Education, has been teaching the students Chinese customs and the Mandarin language this summer in a special class to prepare them for the trip.
            On Wednesday, Aug. 5, Huang invited the students to her house to make Chinese dumplings and taught them the proper way of using chopsticks. She also talked about customs and traditions in China.
            Rita Haider, interim director of the Center for International Programs and Activities, helped the students get the proper passports and visas required for the trip.
Armes, of Sciotoville, will be teaching third grade at Huajing Elementary School. She is the daughter of Debbie Collier and the late Keith Collier and graduated from Portsmouth West High School in 1995. Armes is a member of E.C. Smiles and has been on the President’s List for the past two years maintaining a 4.0 grade point average. She also presented at the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
            “This is my first big trip,” Armes said. “My husband and I made this decision together and it is a once in a lifetime trip. My family is very proud of me.”
Remington, of Piketon, will be teaching fifth grade English and Social Studies at Xiguan Experimental Elementary School. She is the daughter of Royce and Cara Remington and graduated from Piketon High School in 2005. Remington presented at NCATE and also presented at the Ohio Middle School Association in 2009.
            “My parents are very happy that I am getting to travel,” Remington said. “I can’t wait to go.”
            Wilson, of Loudonville, Ohio, will be teaching in Yucai Kindergarten for children three to five years old. Wilson, daughter of Brian and Laura Lee Wilson, graduated from Loudonville High School in 2005. She is president of E.C. Smiles, secretary of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and a member of the Campus Crusade for Christ. She also traveled to London for spring break and she is anxious to go to China.
            “My family is ecstatic,” she said. “I am teaching them how to use Skype so we can communicate.”
The students will not be able to use their cell phones so the best way they can communicate with their families will be on the computer. The three will be leaving on Aug. 19 on the long trip to China.


PHOTO CUTLINE (Students to China.jpg):
Three students at Shawnee State University will be teaching in China Fall Semester. Dr. Xiaodan Huang, professor in Teacher Education at Shawnee State University, met with the students at the Center for International Programs and Activities to discuss their trip with Rita Haider, interim director of CIPA. In the photo are, from left Huang, Kristin Wilson, Amy Armes, Jenny Remington and Haider.

PHOTO CUTLINE (Students make Chinese Dumplings.jpg):
Three students at Shawnee State University will be teaching in China Fall Semester. Dr. Xiaodan Huang, professor in Teacher Education at Shawnee State University, invited the students to her house to teach them how to make Chinese dumplings and to use chop sticks to eat them. The students made several dozen dumplings and Huang boiled and fried them. In the photo are, from left, Jenny Remington, Kristin Wilson, Amy Armes and Huang.
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