Winter cold may be slowly stealing away the fading autumn warmth, but one always feels warm at heart at the Yenching Academy—a cozy, multicultural community of Chinese and international students from all over the world. Residential Advisors (RAs) are selected from the upper cohort of Yenching Scholars and serve as a bridge between the administration and students and facilitate a better living and learning experience for their fellow students at YCA. RAs have played a crucial role in helping fellow scholars to study and experience China in China.
Guidance from Fellow Scholars
At the end of last academic year, the YCA Student Affairs Office organized a handover meeting of RAs in which the ninth RA team shared about their experience with effective cross-cultural teamwork, dealing with emergencies, and time management, helping the new RA team prepare for the coming academic year.
On September 1, RAs received the new students at Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing Daxing International Airport, and on-campus at Peking University, helping new students with luggage storage and other registration formalities. The RA team designed an engaging PKU tour, guiding the new Yenching Scholars to canteens and other campus landmarks. The RAs also offered practical advice for international students’ residence permit and required medical examination. The RA team impressed the new students with their consideration and attention to detail, conveying a heartfelt welcome from YCA.
New Friendships Forged Across Cultures
At the Yenching Academy, students interface daily with their studies and classes . As assistants to the banzhuren (class advisors), RAs are responsible for class community building. For the new cohort’s first class meeting, the RA team designed icebreakers such as “information snowball fight” and charades. The new students were grouped randomly and got to know each other through conversational Q&As and team-building games.
The YCA Olympics kicked off on November 12, marking the culmination of this year’s cohort bond-building efforts. At the basement area of the Second Gymnasium, the students competed with their classmates in four different events, namely the inflatable caterpillar race, drum bounce, puzzle cube challenge, and tug-of-war, filling the gymnasium with fun and laughter. The prizes were specially designed for the event by the RA team, leaving a lasting impression of the YCA Olympics in the students’ memories.
Drawing upon YCA’s tradition of immersive cultural experiences, the RA team rolled out something new for this year’s “Hutong Go!” event. The team combined a scavenger hunt bingo with other interactive activities along the hutong route. The participants were dropped off at Hehua Shichang (Lotus Market) and walked through hutongs in Shichahai and Yinding Bridge areas to solve various puzzles while also immersing themselves in the local culture of Beijing. Before the students set off for the hutong tour, YCA Associate Dean Brent Haas gave a short lecture on the history and current atmosphere of Beijing’s hutong area. During the game, the students received stamps at checkpoints scattered throughout the route and had fun interactions with volunteers. At the last stop, they played Chinese shuttlecock. Through the “Hutong Go!” game, our new students personally experienced the ancient but very much living local culture of Beijing.
The RA team led their fellow students to the Tian’anmen Square in the early dawn hours of October 11 and excitedly observed the daily flag-raising ceremony at sunrise.
The RA team invited Yenching Scholars to two original art events. In “Draw What’s in My Heart”, students painted to express their artistic inspiration and relieve stress. Cheng Xing, researcher from Wisdomology Int’l Limited was invited to give a Chinese sword dance performance at the “Sword Dance in China” event. Cheng also spoke about traditional Chinese cultural attire and taught Chinese sword dance. Through these events, students had an immersive experience of traditional Chinese culture.
A Well Trained and Fully Prepared Team
The RA team devotes itself to building a home for all students in the YCA community. To this end, the team has been well trained and fully prepared with support from the Academy and other professionals. On September 4, the Academy invited Wu Haofeng, director of the Shanghai-based Sinoaid Health Promotion Center to give a tailored training to the RA team on CPR and on-campus first aid. Through subsequent drill exercises, the RAs mastered AED operation and emergency response skills, thus became better equipped for possible emergencies within the dormitory. In late October and early November, the Academy held meetings with Shaoyuan and PKU Conference Center to communicate student feedback, RA representatives attended both meetings, discussing residence-related issues. Through these efforts, the RA team, the Academy administration, and third parties established a pattern of smooth collaboration.
The RA team also opened a new “RA Chat” session this year to facilitate better and more accessible communication. Available twice a week, the sessions became a space where students could talk about whatever they were interested in or concerned about, from daily life and time management to medical insurance and services. In addition, the RA team organized sharing sessions, offering practical information and guidance for campus cultural life, the Dean’s Research Grant application process, and second-year life at YCA.
The RA team will continue to serve Yenching Scholars with their utmost dedication, listening, and care. They are prepared to go wherever and whenever needed to build Yenching Academy into a truly welcoming multicultural community.
