J.R. Tucker High School sophomore Caleb Willis began studying Chinese in sixth grade through Henrico County Public Schools’ Gifted Young Scholars Academy program at Wilder Middle School. He “fell in love” with the language, and his appreciation of Chinese culture has grown ever since. But he never thought it would lead to meeting the Chinese Ambassador to the United States and earning a trip to the country as a teenager.
“[The ambassador] told me I started the Year of the Horse lucky,” Caleb said, recounting the moment. “I was elated.”
Caleb scored the rare invitation to the Chinese New Year Reception in Washington, D.C., through his involvement with NVA STEM. The local organization, which promotes STEM events for K-12 students and parents, has a partnership with the Richmond Sister Cities Commission.
The reception was attended by hundreds of leaders and diplomats, including Ambassador Xie Feng. At the reception, Caleb learned he was holding the winning raffle ticket for a round-trip flight to China, presented to him by Xie. It felt surreal.
“I was shocked,” he said.
Caleb, who is part of the Advance College Academy for Social Sciences at Tucker, plans to make the trip with his family in early summer, visiting Sias University in Zhengzhou, one of Richmond’s sister cities. He will tour the university and get an understanding of the country’s higher education system.
The Tigers sophomore said he and his family also plan to visit the Great Wall, try new food and learn as much about China’s history as possible. He is also looking forward to using his growing Chinese language skills as much as possible.
Caleb originally chose Chinese as his foreign language because he wanted to try something new. His interest in the language and culture has opened up doors, including the invitation he received to attend the Chinese New Year celebration with his family.
“Henrico County Public Schools provided me with the amazing opportunity to take Chinese with Dr. Yan Gao, and that was the catalyst for all of this,” he said.
