Date: Apr 26, 2012

Sophomore Places Second in "Chinese Bridge" Competition

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … Hofstra sophomore Eric Leonardis of Garden City, NY, placed second in the 3rd “Chinese Bridge” East USA Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, organized by the New York Service Center for Chinese Study Fellows, under the guidance of Chinese Counsel in New York.  This event is an international contest that aims to persuade students in various countries to learn Chinese and strengthen the world’s understanding of Chinese language and culture.

Eric first participated in a regional preliminary round at New York University on March 24, 2012 and was then one of four students from there to advance to the finals at Pace University on April 7.

Eric, a triple major in psychology, history and Chinese studies, is currently in his fourth semester of studying Chinese at Hofstra with Professor Zhou Zuyan, and he has also participated in the Hofstra in China study abroad program.

For the “Chinese Bridge” competition, students were required to give a two-minute speech in Chinese and to demonstrate a Chinese talent. Eric’s speech was focused on Chinese and American cultural differences and cross-cultural psychology. For his talent, he demonstrated Choy Lay Fut, a style of Kung Fu. Eric tied for second place with students from Princeton University and New York University.

Eric says he was originally attracted to Chinese culture because of interest in martial arts. “Eventually I grew fascinated with the cultural differences and traditions. I hope to do research in cross-cultural psychology. I believe that all aspects of history, language and culture are very important, and - unfortunately - they can often be overlooked in psychological research. I also hope to spend a lot of time in China. Traveling there with the Hofstra program was a great experience, and I wish to return there as often as I can.”

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution of higher education where more than 12,000 full and part-time students choose from undergraduate and graduate offerings in liberal arts and sciences, business, engineering, communication, education, health and human services, honors studies, a School of Law and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.
###