The Robert & MeiLi Hefner Foundation welcomes the Hefner Awardees from Beijing High School No 4 to Oklahoma City!

January 28, 2015
By Metra Nichols

The Robert & MeiLi Hefner Foundation, under the “Hefner Initiative” program, has awarded four high school students from Beijing High School No 4 in Beijing, China to travel to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in January 2015. The four Hefner Awardees: Marcus Liu Yuang, Vicky Ni Cheng, Sarah Zou Yumeng, and Tricia An Mufei will attend classes and board at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics for duration of three weeks and join in activities with mentor students and teachers of OSSM.  Through the Foundation’s partnership with OSSM, the Hefner Awardees will experience an American high school classroom setting and participate in extracurricular activities around the city in learning about the history and the community of Oklahoma.

The program this winter will include a tour of the Oklahoma History Center, Norman High School, Oklahoma City Community College’s Film & Video Department, Oklahoma University Campus, OU National History Museum, Oklahoma Museum of Art, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Hefner Awardees will also spend a weekend at the homes of their OSSM student mentors to lend cultural insight in to an American family’s lifestyle.

Each Beijing High School Awardee will compose a reflection essay upon their return to China, describing their personal experience in Oklahoma and how they view the importance of the US/China relationship after having visited.  They will also present their experience to their school, friends and family, and community in effort to promote long-term, positive relationships between the two countries.