University of North Carolina Athletics
Baeli-Wang Selected As UNC Phillips Ambassador
May 22, 2015 | Fencing, Academics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Ezra Baeli-Wang, a rising junior on the men's fencing team, has been selected as a UNC Phillips Ambassador for study abroad in Asia. He is a peace, war, and defense major, with a Chinese and creative writing double minor. He will study Chinese language through the CET Shanghai Summer program and participate in an internship in Shanghai this summer.
“I'm incredibly excited about studying abroad in Shanghai this summer,” Baeli-Wang said. “I've only heard great things from everyone who's ever spent time abroad during their college careers, and I'm very grateful to Ambassador Phillips, his wife, and all of the generous donors who have made this experience possible for me.
“This will be my first time in China and I can't imagine a better way to immerse myself in Chinese culture and society than to study at a local university and intern in the city. I'm looking forward to further developing my language skills, gaining valuable international workplace experience, traveling the country and even doing some fencing at a club in Shanghai recommended to me by the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold-medal saber fencer and current UNC Medical Scholar-In-Residence Zhong Man."
A captain of the men's foil squad, Baeli-Wang is from Hillsborough, N.J. He and 15 other Phillips Ambassadors, were honored at a luncheon on April 8th at the Carolina Club. Each Phillips Ambassador brought a faculty guest, and Baeli-Wang invited Dr. Gang Yue, an associate professor in the Department of Asian Studies.
"Dr. Yue was my professor for the latest Chinese language course I've taken here at UNC,” Baeli-Wang said. “With each successive course increasing in workload intensity and content difficulty, Dr. Yue was instrumental in helping me succeed in his Advanced Chinese Composition and Rhetoric class. His energy and his passion for the subject matter made it easy to engage completely in the coursework, and his laid back teaching-style and willingness to engage students in discussion (in Chinese) about absolutely anything really improved my comprehension and speaking abilities, and did so in a way that was enjoyable and interesting."
Baeli-Wang departs for Asia on June 4 and first will spend time visiting Taiwan before traveling to Shanghai, where he'll be from June 10-Aug. 10.
The Phillips Ambassadors Program is part of UNC's Carolina Asia Center, in association with the Study Abroad office. Phillips Ambassadors are selected twice a year and receive $5,000 each. Selection is based on strong communication skills, intellectual curiosity and engagement, academic achievement, evidence of generous service to the campus and wider community, and a previous record of leadership.
A distinguishing feature of the program is an emphasis on what is called a “Give Back,” or sharing of one's study abroad experience in Asia with the Carolina community and a student's hometown. In accepting the scholarship, students agree to fulfill a Give Back related to their study abroad experience. Give Backs include endeavors such as published articles, classroom presentations at a student's hometown high school, photo and art exhibitions, musical performances and group projects focused on Asia.
The Phillips Ambassadors Program is made possible through a generous gift from Carolina alumnus Earl N. “Phil” Phillips, an entrepreneur and former U.S. ambassador, and his family.
“Our goal with this gift has been to encourage more students to spend their study abroad experiences focused on Asia — an increasingly vital region of the future,” said Phillips, who splits his time between High Point and Chapel Hill, N.C.
The first group of Phillips Ambassadors studied abroad in Asia in the summer of 2007. By the end of 2015, 239 Carolina undergraduates will have studied abroad in Asia as Phillips Ambassadors.
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