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English Professor From China To Address Dade City Groups

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By JO-ANN JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

DADE CITY - In July, students and teachers from Pasco Middle School broke new educational ground when they traveled to Nanjing, China, to teach conversational English to middle-school students attending an academic summer camp.

The exchange continues next week at Pasco Middle with the arrival of a visitor from Nanjing.

Donald Snow, a professor of English at Nanjing University, will speak for two hours Tuesday to students in Pasco Middle's global exchange project. Snow, who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, teaches English as a second language in China. He has been asked to discuss Chinese culture, education, religion, family life, economics and environmental policies here.

His appearance 'rounds out' the conversations the global exchange project has been conducting, said Laurie Johnson, Pasco Middle's assistant principal. 'It's part of the cultural exchange.'

Pasco Middle School students started the dialogue last year by videoconferencing with peers at a school in Nanjing. The project's long-term goal is to prepare students to participate in a global economy. But first, the teens have had to get to know each other. They have done that by chatting periodically about everything from soccer to school life.

Students and teachers who went to China this summer didn't meet Snow in Nanjing, although his university is connected with the middle school they visited.

His visit to Dade City came together by sheer coincidence.

Gail Stout, a member of First Presbyterian Church in Dade City who supervises career and technical education for Pasco County schools, read in a church publication that an academic from Nanjing University would be available to speak to American congregations.

The Presbyterian Church's governing body in the United States asked Snow and his wife, Wei Hong Snow, to visit American congregations this fall and discuss their mission work in China.

Stout zeroed in on the Nanjing connection.

'What are the chances of that?' she said.

Stout booked Snow for appearances Tuesday at Pasco Middle School and the First Presbyterian Church. The public is invited to both events.

Snow will speak at the school from noon to 2 p.m. in the auditorium, 13925 14th St. Visitors need to check in first at the school's office. The phone number is (352) 524-8400.

At 6:30 p.m., he will speak about life as a Presbyterian missionary at First Presbyterian Church, 37412 Church Ave. Visitors are asked to reserve a seat in advance by calling (352) 567-2591.

According to Snow's biography, he earned a bachelor's degree in history from the College of Wooster in Ohio, a master's in English as a second language from Michigan State University and a doctorate in East Asian languages from Indiana University.

He has worked as an English instructor in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other cities on the Chinese mainland. In 1991, Snow met his wife in China, where they married.
Wei Hong Snow has a master of divinity degree and a master of library science degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong. She has taught English and works with her husband on the staff of the Presbyterian Church in China.

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston can be reached at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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