Jointly established by the Alumni Association of Chinese Colleges and Universities in Southern California "Pine, Bamboo and Plum" Scholarship

Jointly established by the Alumni Association of Chinese Colleges and Universities in Southern California "Pine, Bamboo and Plum" Scholarship The Peking University Alumni Association of Southern California announced on November 22, 2011 that the United…

The Peking University Alumni Association of Southern California jointly established the "Pine, Bamboo and Plum" Scholarship. The Peking University Alumni Association of Southern California announced on November 22, 2011 that it has joined forces with Tsinghua University, Jiaotong University, University of Science and Technology of China, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University and other Chinese university alumni associations in California to jointly establish the "Song, Bamboo and Plum" scholarship to encourage the next generation of alumni to actively participate in community activities; promote the spirit of community service; and increase the second-generation immigrants' understanding of their parents and their recognition of Chinese culture. According to Chang Jin, president of the Peking University of Southern California Alumni Association, and Rong Jie, president-elect, the "Pine, Bamboo and Plum" annual large-scale dinner party jointly organized by major alumni associations has continued for ten years since 2002 and has become a tradition for alumni of Chinese colleges and universities in Southern California. Last year's "Pine, Bamboo and Plum" picnic was hosted by the USC-Northern University Alumni Association. The event was an unprecedented success. More than 400 alumni and their families participated in the event, and a savings of nearly US$2,000 was achieved. After discussion with the organizer, it was unanimously agreed that the savings would be used to set up the "Pine, Bamboo and Plum" scholarship. After being nominated by various alumni associations, the first "Songzhumei" Scholarship Review Committee has been established in 2011. Chang Jin and three other people serve as co-chairmen of the review committee. The members of the review committee are composed of heads of major alumni associations. A scholarship award ceremony will be held at the Masonic Center in Arcadia, Los Angeles from 2 to 5 pm on December 17th. Dai Shouzhen, former president of the Arcadia Chinese Association, expressed his strong support for this award ceremony that encourages Chinese teenagers to identify with Chinese culture. This scholarship will be awarded to two age groups, 6 to 12 years old and 13 to 18 years old. At least one of the applicant's parents has studied in a university in mainland China for more than one year and is a member of the university's alumni association in North America. Applicants in the 6-12-year-old group must state their talents and Chinese cultural identity composition; applicants in the 13-18-year-old group must state their community service and Chinese cultural identity composition. Ten final winners will be selected from each group. The scholarship amount is US$100 per person, and the winners will also receive a "Song, Bamboo and Plum" scholarship certificate. According to reports, the application deadline for this year's "Songzhumei" scholarship is November 30. Each alumni association will first select 5 to 10 candidates. The review will be completed in early December, and the final list of winners will be determined by voting by the review committee. Applicants or parents should email the application form, essay and relevant documents to puaascyb@gmail.com. The application form can be downloaded from the USC-PKU Alumni Association www.pku.org or the websites of each alumni association. (AACYF Los Angeles News)