As many other classmates have also posted a reflection of their final paper, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to do so myself. I copied and pasted my mission statement and final notes below, along with my final reflections.
Mission Statement
Shanqu College serves to provide equal opportunity for all, regardless of geography or cultural background, through a comprehensive liberal arts education.
As an innovative addition to the Greater New York area, we hope to break boundaries by adopting a flexible system that will support our students in their academic endeavors. As a nonconventional higher education institution situated in the City of New York, the city is our campus, that is, the College is able to draw upon the architectural and multicultural resources of the city. Moreover, we welcome students from all walks of life, and inspire them to develop their potential beyond what they imagined when the first enter. Understanding our students’ different circumstances, we seek to provide a flexible style of learning by allowing them to take classes either online, or in one of our many access points throughout the city. Drawing inspiration from the underdeveloped mountainous regions of Mainland China, our founder Ms. Jennifer Tam hopes to provide a quality education for all disadvantaged and underserved individuals, who otherwise would not have this opportunity.
Through its dedicated faculty and staff, Shanqu College provides students with a personal touch to their educational experience, in hopes of promoting academic excellence while stimulating their personal development.
Final Notes
I drew inspiration from my wish to serve underprivileged children in the mountainous regions of Mainland China. As an aspiring teacher, I believe that every child deserves to have an education, but this is unfortunately not the case for children living in poverty. In the mountainous and rural regions of China, few have this privilege. However, there are some impressive individuals who hope to better these children’s lives by setting up a small school that comprises children of all ages. The teacher as well the children typically walk two hours to and from school each day on rocky, unpaved roads of China’s mountain ranges. They may not have the privilege that children and teacher living in urban areas may have, but they definitely have more willpower and motivation to thrive and improve their conditions. The name of my college, Shanqu, is the English Romanization for the Chinese term 山区, meaning mountainous regions.
While working on my final paper, I struggled with taking such an idealistic and somewhat impractical approach and make it seem achievable. Although this WAS supposed to be the blueprint for an ideal college, I had hoped that I could design an institution that would be able to thrive despite the social and financial aggressions of New York City. I designed my college with good intentions, and hope that such a model could be adopted in the future because I strongly believe education (elementary, secondary, or higher) shouldn’t be solely about profit.
