11 Students from 11 Countries Join Freeman Scholars Cohort

The Wesleyan Freeman Asian Scholars Program welcomed 11 new students to the program during a Freeman Scholars Dinner Oct. 6.

The program enables qualified young men and women from each of 11 countries or regions – The People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam to come to Wesleyan on full tuition scholarships.

“I am fortunate to work with the Freeman Asian Scholars Association; so many are friends. I love their energy, good spirit and their wonderful creativity and culture they inject into the community,” says Gina Driscoll, associate director of development events.

This program is made possible by Wesleyan University and the Freeman Foundation, which aims to improve understanding and to strengthen ties between the United States and the countries of the Pacific Rim. Entry into the Wesleyan Freeman Asian Scholars Program is highly competitive: only one student is selected annually from each country.

The Freeman Foundation, led by the late Houghton Freeman ’43, his wife Doreen, and their son Graeme Freeman ’77, launched  the program in 1995.

The 2011-12 cohort includes Tong Satayopas of Thailand; Dat Vu of Vietnam; Kehan Zhou of China; Kaito Abe of Japan; Marianna Ilagan of the Philippines; Rizky Rahadianto of Indonesia; Chun Kit Ng of Malaysia; Inha Cho of the Republic of Korea; Michael Leung of Hong Kong; Jill Jie’en Tan of Singapore and Yun-Hsuan Lai of Taiwan.