Summer 2009 Application Form for Vietnamese College Students DUE: 5 PM Saturday Mar. 7, 2009 OVERVIEW Coach for College provides a forum for college students from America to work together with college and high school students from other countries to use sports to help youth from rural communities in these countries access higher education. The program provides sports infrastructure to youth who attend rural middle schools, and helps them develop excitement for the learning of science, language, and life skills using sports as a means to applied learning. The overall goal is to help youth develop the motivation, confidence, and other skills needed to one day obtain a higher education, as the program’s coaches have done. Collegiate athletes from top U.S. universities which are rivals in athletic competitions partner with bilingual college students and high school students near the project area to run interactive sports-learning camps during the summer, with an additional emphasis on how to access and benefit most from higher education in America and the host country, currently Vietnam. Vietnamese college students from any year in school are eligible to participate, provided they are students of Can Tho University (the program’s primary partner university), are fluent in English and/or knowledgeable about sports, and have an interest in furthering the program’s goals. While students from all majors are eligible to apply, preference will be given to English majors, English Education majors, and Physical Education majors. 2008 PROGRAM In summer 2008, 20 college students or graduates of Can Tho University, 10 high school students from the Hoa An Commune, and 20 student-athletes from Duke University and the University of North Carolina in the United States participated as coaches in two three week sports-learning camps (half in each) for 200 Vietnamese youth. The youth were rising 6 th -9 th graders, and the camps were held on the grounds of Hoa An Secondary School, the middle school for children who live in the Hoa An Commune in the Hau Giang province. The program also provided sports infrastructure to the youth in the form of sports equipment donated to the school and a five-in-one sports court built next to the middle school allowing for the play of soccer, tennis, volleyball, basketball, and badminton. Over the course of three weeks coaches taught one of five sports and one of five sports-themed academic classes to five teams of 10 youth from one grade in the morning and five teams of 10 youth from a different grade in the afternoon. In both the morning and afternoon, they also taught one of the five teams in Team Building and Higher Education (everyday), the Importance and Benefits of Sports (first week only), and Fitness and Conditioning (second week only). 2009 PROGRAM STRUCTURE In summer 2009, four three week camps will be held at the Hoa An Secondary School. 8 Vietnamese college students from Can Tho University will participate in each of the three week sessions as coaches. A Vietnamese college student who participated in the program in summer 2008 will serve as the Vietnamese College Student Director for each session. Each session of coaches will work with 96 children from a single grade (rising 6 th , 7 th , 8 th , or 9 th graders), 48 for four hours in the morning and 48 for four hours in the afternoon. The youth in the morning and afternoon groups will be divided into 4 teams of 12. At all times during each camp, coaching groups consisting of 1-2 American student- athletes, 2 bilingual Vietnamese college students, and 1 Vietnamese high school student who participated in the program last year will work with a single team of 12 youth. Camps will last Monday- Thursday for three weeks. The Friday of each week will serve as a competition day in which the teams of youth will compete against each other to demonstrate what they learned in the classes during the week. The specific camp schedule will be available on the website. The standard day on which your participation in the program will begin will be the Saturday prior to the start of the camp. The standard end day of your participation will be the Sunday following the last Friday of the camp. All Vietnamese college students will stay at the Hoa An Research Center during their participation in the program. 2009 PROGRAM FINANCING The Coach for College program will pay for the living expenses of selected Vietnamese college students during the duration of each three week session via support from Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and an International Sports Programming Initiative Grant from the U.S. Department of State. This includes accommodation, food, and travel from Monday-Friday during the camps. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS Answer each question on the application in Bold. Make sure to read the Coach for College website (www.coachforcollege.org) in full before finalizing your application. Email your completed application to coachforcollege2009@gmail.com by 5 PM on Sat. Mar. 7. A preliminary elimination will be made based on the written application. Finalists will be invited for an on-campus interview with the Coach for College Selection Committee during the week of Mar. 9. Those selected for the program will be notified by email shortly following the day on which the last interviews are conducted. We hope to conclude the selection process by Mar. 14. Contact Nguyen Duong Dinh Thai at thaiddn@gmail.com or (091) 830- 2301 with any questions about the application process. Page 2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Campus Address: Permanent Address: ________________________________ _________________________________ ________________________________ _________________________________ ________________________________ _________________________________ Phone: _________________________ Phone: ___________________________ Dates at this Address: ______________ Dates At this Address: _______________ Alternate Summer Addresses: ________________________________ _________________________________ ________________________________ _________________________________ ________________________________ _________________________________ Phone: _________________________ Phone: ___________________________ Dates at this Address: ______________ Dates At this Address: _______________ Email Address: _________________________ Alternate Email Address: _________________ Cell Phone: ____________________________ GENERAL: Page 3 Name: ____________________________ Hometown: ________________________ University: _________________________ Year: _____________________________ Gender: ____M ____F Major: ___________________________ Minor: ___________________________ Sessions Can Attend (Please select all sessions you could attend): ______ Session 1: May 30 -- June 21, 2009 ______ Session 2: June 20 -- July 12, 2009 ______ Session 3: July 11 -- Aug. 6, 2009 ______ Session 4: July 25 -- Aug. 16, 2009 1. What problems do you think the Coach for College program is trying to address? Why do you think the program is called “Coach for College”? 2. Why do you want to participate in the Coach for College program? In your answer, please include a description of what you hope to learn from interactions with American student- athlete coaches, what you hope to learn from the Vietnamese youth and fellow Vietnamese coaches, and how this program fits into your long term goals. 3. What experience, if any, do you have living or working in low-income, rural communities in Vietnam? Please explain. 4. In this program, there will be many instances which will require you to act in a way that you are not used to, including interacting and working with people from another culture, adjusting to new educational methodologies, and teaching youth concepts with which you and they may not be familiar. Describe a time in your life when you were forced to do something for the first time or complete a task you were not familiar with and explain how you responded in this situation. 5. Effective coaches in the program are able to develop emotional bonds with the kids and motivate and excite the youth in all facets of the program, regardless of the different barriers involved. What experience, if any, do you have with coaching, tutoring, or working with kids? 6. The best teachers are often the best leaders. To successfully teach material to the youth, you will need to be a leader in your coaching group and help the American coaches convey information in the program’s curriculum to the youth. You will also need to be able to take initiative and develop solutions when things do not go according to plan in the classes that you teach. Describe an event or experience during your life in which you exercised a significant leadership role. 7. What do you think you can contribute to the group of participating Vietnamese college students and to the program in general? What skills have you developed during college and during the process of trying to reach college which you think will serve you well in this program? 8. What steps do you think you need to take to adequately prepare yourself for the program? What information do you think you need to know about the environment where you will be working? 9. How will you use your experience in the Coach for College program to benefit other youth, Vietnamese college students, the local community, and the public generally upon your return to your university and hometown? In what other ways do you hope to use your experience in the program in the future, especially during the remainder of your college career (if applicable) and later in your chosen profession? SPORTS: If selected, you will help teach one sports class to all the teams of youth in the program. You will work with 1-2 American student-athletes, one Vietnamese high school student, and one other Vietnamese Page 4 college student to teach six 45 minute classes to each of the four teams of youth over the course of the three weeks. You will be asked to help teach stretching, fitness, and drills related to the sport. All of the youth are familiar with volleyball and soccer but they have had only limited, if any exposure, to tennis and basketball. Sports Class Preferences: Please rate all the sports classes based on your preference to teach them, using 1 for the most preferred class and 4 for the least preferred one. ______ Soccer ______ Volleyball ______ Tennis ______ Basketball Sports Class Qualifications: Please explain your qualifications to teach each of the four sports classes (such as any experience you have playing or teaching that sport). If you have no experience playing or coaching a particular sport, please state “None.” For each one, feel free to use as much space as you need. NOTE: You do NOT have to have a sports background to participate in the program. Soccer: Volleyball: Tennis: Basketball: ACADEMICS: If selected, you will teach one academic class to all the teams of youth in the program, using examples from sports. As with the sports classes, you will work with 1-2 American college student-athletes, one Vietnamese high school student, and one other Vietnamese college student to teach six 45 minute Page 5 classes to each of the four teams of youth over the course of the three weeks. The sports-themed academic classes will use sports to teach youth Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, English, Literature, and Morality, all subjects the youth learn during the school year. You will be given lesson plans linking sports with the particular academic subjects on which your class focuses, designed by local teachers as well as curriculum developers in the United States. Academic Class Preferences: Please rate all the academic classes based on your preference to teach them, using 1 for the most preferred class and 4 for the least preferred one. ______ Sports and Health (focusing on the subjects of Biology and Chemistry) ______ Sports and Physics (focusing on the subjects of Physics and Math) ______ Sports and English (focusing on the subjects of English and Literature) ______ Sports and Morality (focusing on the subjects of Morality and Psychology) Academic Class Qualifications: Please explain your qualifications to teach each of the four academic classes (teaching experience you have in these subjects, relevant classes you have taken, relevant internships or jobs you have had, etc). If you feel you have no relevant qualifications for a particular class, please state “None.” Keep in mind that the subject matter is at a middle school level (ninth grade is the highest), and you will be given lesson plans to aid you in teaching these classes. For each answer, feel free to use as much space as you need. Sports and Health (Biology, Chemistry): Sports and Physics (Physics, Math): Sports and English (English, Literature): Sports and Morality (Morality, Psychology): RESUME: Please fill in details for the categories listed below. Please try to write your answers so that all of them fit on this one page. Name and Contact Information: Page 6 Education: Relevant Coursework: Honors and Awards: Relevant Work Experience: Leadership Experience: Volunteer (Service) Experience: Skills: Hobbies and Interests: Page 7 . Summer 2009 Application Form for Vietnamese College Students DUE: 5 PM Saturday Mar. 7, 2009 OVERVIEW Coach for College provides a forum for college students. the camps. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS Answer each question on the application in Bold. Make sure to read the Coach for College website (www.coachforcollege.org)