17-year-old Noah Faison
For some African American teenagers it can be difficult finding their special niche. However, this isn’t a challenge for 17-year-old Noah Faison of Montgomery County, Md. He speaks Chinese fluently and lives in China as part of a study aboard program.
“I’ve been blessed with opportunities with studying aboard. I’ve been to Africa multiple times, Europe, and this is my second time in Asia. I’m here to study a language and study the culture,” said Noah.
There’s a growing trend in America to encourage students to study aboard, especially in China. In 2009, President Barrack Obama, initiated the 100,000 Strong Educational Exchange Initiative. According to the U.S. Department of State’s website, the program is designed to encourage more American students to study in China.
Noah is currently a junior in high school and lives with “host parents.” I speak enough to hold a good conversation. This is my sixth year taking Chinese.
My host family is very similar to home life when I’m not at boarding school. I call my host parents mom and dad,” he told the AFRO.
Noah said he plans to continue to study Chinese or what is called “Mandarin.” He will live in China until June, and then return to Berkshire, his home boarding school, in Massachusetts.
“We have the potential to make a huge impact here, and it starts with economics. Having a tool like Chinese would be something to draw people’s attention.” said Noah. He also writes a blog, http://blackwhitebeijing.blogspot.com, to journal his experiences while in China.
“China is going to become the largest economy, and the opportunities for career could be expanded. Noah had the opportunity to travel at a young age and he was an international kid. Very early on he had expressed an interest in politics, and because of those things it’s important to have a second language.
” Deborah Faison, Noah’s mother, recently told the AFRO. She said she instilled in her son at an early age the importance of learning and speaking a second language other than Spanish.
To learn more about the 100,000 Strong Educational Exchange Initiative, visit http://100kstrong.org/.