Sophomore earns prestigious Olympic Games internship in China

RELEASED: Dec. 21, 2006

DANVILLE, KY—Jing Zhang, a sophomore from Shenzhen, China, has been awarded a prestigious internship with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG). Zhang will work in the international relations department during CentreTerm, the College’s unique three-week winter term in January.

Beijing won the right to stage the 2008 Summer Olympic Games back in 2001 and has been busy making preparations ever since.

Zhang's responsibilities in this position, according to the BOCOG Web site, include being "responsible for liaison and communications efforts with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), national Olympic committees (NOCs), regional Olympic committees and other Olympic Family members, as well as providing other relevant services."

Zhang, who plans to major in international relations, details the steps she went through to obtain the position and the skills she felt helped her win the competitive internship.

"I sent them my resume and cover letter and told them I was really interested in the Beijing Olympics and hoped to do something for it," Zhang says. "Before I applied, I called them to ask for information about the internship. In my cover letter, I told them I even visited the BOCOG [headquarters] in person this past summer when I was in China, which I felt showed my strong interest.

"I also speak good English and some French [the official languages of Olympics]. I think another strength that helped me get the internship is that I actively spread Chinese culture abroad—by teaching the Chinese language, the culture and sharing with people the latest news about the Beijing Olympics, both at Centre and in the community."

Zhang has been involved with the International Student Association since arriving at Centre and taught a popular Chinese language class this past semester that was open to faculty, staff, students and the community.

- end -

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.