Join EngageAsia in a Film+Makers Series Screening and Discussion of the Film Beyond the Wall featuring Sally Schwartz, Founder of Globalize DC and others.
Beyond The Wall is an independent documentary film, produced by CIB Productions, a Beijing-based production company. It tells the story of four DCPS high school students (from Ballou, Anacostia/McKinley, Roosevelt, and Wilson) who were selected for a six-week Chinese language and culture program in Beijing in summer 2009. This opportunity was offered at no cost to the students through Globalize DC's partnership with Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA), with partial funding from the US State Department. The film follows the students in their homes, schools, and communities before their summer travel; during the six-week trip; and in the years since their return.
Beyond The Wall makes a powerful statement about the value and impact of global exposure and study abroad, particularly for students in underserved schools and communities. One of the four is now a Foreign Service Officer, headed to his first China assignment next year as a direct result of his participation in this high school program.
Co-sponsored by the National Association for Black Engagement with Asia.
Please watch the film prior to the webinar.
Panelists Include:
Dr. LaNitra M. Berger
Senior Director, Office of Fellowships & Affiliate Faculty, African and American Studies Program @George Mason University
Dr. LaNirta M. Berger is Director, Office of Fellowships, Office of Undergraduate Education, George Mason University. She’s also on the Affiliate Faculty, African and African American Studies Program. Of relevance, she is Editor of the recently published book from NAFSA, Social Justice and International Education: Research, Practice, and Perspectives. LaNitra was instrumental in recruiting and supporting two students from the film (Jeffrey and Peter), who both went to George Mason University where they continued their Chinese education and study abroad to China.
Ms. Paula Koda
Co-Founder @Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA)
Paula Koda is co-founder of Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA), the China study abroad program featured in the film Beyond the Wall. She is now retired as Principal for AWA Management; held positions in Sales and Marketing in AT&T (including Director of Asia Pacific Sales Operations out of Beijing); and did a stint in government during the Clinton Administration as Chief of Staff in the Office of Management, Department of Education. She currently resides in Lancaster, PA. Paula was deeply involved in the creation and design of APSA, while she was based in Beijing, and has interacted a lot with the urban public high school students who were the focus of the program.
Ms. Sally Schwartz
Executive Director @Globalize DC
Sally Schwartz is Executive Director of Globalize DC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to global education, language learning, and study abroad opportunities for students in DC public schools. Prior to this role, she was Director of International Programs for DC Public Schools. Beginning in 2008, Globalize DC partnered with APSA to select, prepare, and follow up with students who went on the APSA summer program to Beijing. Sally worked closely with the Beyond The Wall independent filmmaker during filming and post-production.
Mr. Jeffrey Wood
Foreign Service Office @US Department of State
Jeffrey Wood is a Foreign Service Officer in the US Department of State. He will soon depart the United States for his first diplomatic posting in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
In 2009 Jeffrey Wood was a 10th grader at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the District of Columbia when he was selected for a free six-week summer Chinese language and culture program in Beijing, sponsored by Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA), with funding from the US State Department’s National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) Program. He had never studied Chinese, or been on an airplane before. He was invited back to China two years later to participate in APSA’s Booey Lehoo Concert to promote study abroad, sharing the stage with prominent musical artists, such as John Legend and will.i.am.
Jeffrey’s participation in the APSA summer program was documented in the independent film, “Beyond The Wall.” He has spoken at public screenings of the film in local schools, libraries, and on a panel at the US Department of Education’s International Education Week program in 2014.
After graduating from Roosevelt in 2011, Jeffrey attended the Honors College, George Mason University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages, with a concentration in Chinese in 2015. He wrote his Honors Thesis on migrant education in China.
While at George Mason, Jeffrey won a Gilman Scholarship from the US State Department and a Boren Scholarship from the National Security Education Program. These funds supported an academic year in Harbin, China (through CET Academic Programs), where Jeffrey earned a Certificate in Chinese language and literature from Harbin Institute of Technology.
During his year in Harbin, he was selected to interview then First Lady Michelle Obama for Discovery Education, as part of a White House cross-cultural exchange initiative in Beijing, China.
While an undergraduate, he also participated in the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute program at University of California, Berkeley, where he spent seven weeks taking graduate courses in economics, statistics, and public policy.
In 2015, Jeffrey was selected for the highly prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship, which set the stage for his future career. He returned to China for his first year of graduate work at the Johns Hopkins SAIS – Nanjing Center, where he studied International Affairs and China Studies. He continued his graduate studies in Washington, DC at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, where he received a Masters of Arts in International Economics and China Studies in 2017.
As a Pickering Fellow, Jeffrey interned at the US Embassy in Oslo, Norway, working on US-Norwegian political and economic issues, as well as in the China and Mongolian Affairs Office at the US Department of State.
Throughout his academic career, Jeffrey continued to serve his community as an advocate for study abroad. He served as Ambassador for the US China Strong Foundation (formerly 100,000 Strong Foundation) and for Globalize DC to promote diversity in study abroad and encourage youth to consider international exchange.
Jeffrey was invited to testify as part of a panel before the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs on “A National Security Crisis: Foreign Language Capabilities in the Federal Government.” He has also testified numerous times with Globalize DC before the DC State Board of Education in support of global education and critical language learning for DC public school students.