Senior Bonner Scholar in Hong Kong Helping Children Bridge Language Gap

August 17, 2004

August 16, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - Ryan Grable, a senior Bonner Scholar at DePauw University, "has taken his service project around the world to Hong Kong," writes Amanda Callahan in the Banner-Graphic of Greencastle. Grable "is teaching English to children and is instructing them in American culture at Summerbridge Hong Kong. Summerbridge is a non-profit organization that recruits high school and college student to spend their summer teaching students, ages 13-16, Grable said. Students must be academically strong and have the courage to teach teenagers from low-resourced communities." (photo at top shows Grable, at left, with his students)

Grable tells the newspaper, "Helping students practice their English skills and creating an environment that is supportive with a strong vision on 'love for learning' really excited me and made me want to teach this summer." The article points out, "Grable's main job at Summerbridge Hong Kong is to teach the students to speak English and build their confidence in English speaking and writing skills. Students learn about different countries around the world and learn about that culture through education, food, sports, religion and entertainment and they do journal entry work to write their expression or feelings, especially when they cannot verbally express it."

 Callahan states, "Many residents of Greencastle and Putnam County probably known something about the Bonner Scholarship Program at DePauw University. The program is a four-year community service program designed to heighten the overall education of a scholar. It asks students to engage in an ongoing service project and helps these students develop the tools and knowledge that is necessary to make work lasting and meaningful."

Ryan Grable says of his students, "I hope that they will further their skills and have the chance to study in American, because everyday this summer the students have been raising the bar and setting their goals higher and higher."

Read the complete text by clicking here. Learn more about the Bonner Scholar Program here.

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