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Bright KnightsA CHINESE LESSONCHANGES A LIFEJustin Broadfoot ’20Sometimes a high school course is fascinating, and if you are really fortunate, the class istransformational. Such was the case for Justin Broadfoot after he enrolled in Chinese I duringfreshman year. Having taken Spanish at Trafton Middle School, he was ready to try a new worldlanguage in high school. Three years later, the 6-foot-3-inch volleyball player would be marchingwith Houston’s Taiwanese community in HEB’s Thanksgiving Parade, studying abroad for asummer in Beijing, taking Chinese IV Honors, and planning to major in Asian Studies in college.“The minute you walk into class with Mrs. Liang, her enthusiasm for the Chinese language isinfectious,” says Broadfoot. Like all great teachers, Liang believes her subject matter is essentialand relevant, so the students feel it’s important to learn.“Mrs. Liang hooks you in with stories about the history, myths, and traditions of Chinese culture,”Broadfoot explains. “She organizes field trips to Houston’s Chinatown and celebrates holidays withtraditional tea ceremonies in the classroom.”Although a challenge to grasp, Broadfoot says that Chinese calligraphy intrigues him, especially theway the characters evolved from illustrations. “It’s just a more creative way to express ideas,” hesays.When he was studying with Middlebury Interactive Languages last summer, the program askedstudents to sign a pledge to speak only in Chinese. “Our program was full immersion, and I wasable to gain an ear for dialects by the end of four weeks.”The highlight of his summer abroad was touring the Great Wall of China, especially the ancientBadaling section built with quarried rock during the Ming Dynasty in 1505. “For centuries, Chinawas closed off from the world, and so visitors experience a culture that’s truly unique. Thearchitecture is beautiful, the food is delicious, and the street life is vibrant, with surprises likealleyways called hutongs, lit with red lanterns.”While he loves Chinese culture, he admits that the government’s censorship made him uneasy.“We were told to not speak about Tiananmen Square, President Xi, or Hong Kong. Another thing Iobserved was the lack of birds in the city, even pigeons, due to pollution,” he says.Next year, he hopes to study at a college with a strong Asian Studies department, such as theUniversity of Oregon, NYU, or University of Texas. His career goal is to work in internationalbusiness as a liaison between China and the United States. In a complex, interconnected world,business leaders will need a multicultural mindset to navigate local and global environments,Broadfoot predicts.A famous Chinese proverb reads: “Teachers open the door; you enter by yourself.” Motivated by histeacher’s knowledge and enthusiasm, this senior’s ready to take the next step.—Claire C. Fletcher15