Amazing Assistance
Thanks to the generous response of many
different groups and individuals, freshman Mei
Yan has averted a financial crisis that would
have forced her early return to China as a
college dropout.
Yan, 20, a music major, is the college’s first
student from mainland China. She had been
recommended to Chowan by a woman of
Chinese origin living in Elizabeth City, N.C. in
1984.
Dean of students, Clayton Lewis, sent Mei
materials and explained the costs. She was
accepted in February, 1985 and given the
arrival date for the fall semester.
“Land of Opportunity
But Mei arrived on July 30, almost a month
early, with her suitcase, violin and $1,000
toward her college costs. She told Dean Lewis
she had always heard of America as a land of
opportunity and felt that through playing her
violin and babysitting she could raise the
difference to satisfy her college expenses.
Lewis realized there was little time to mount
an effort to raise the additional amount to
cover her tuition, room and board. The in
dustrious Lewis, in his 18th year as Dean of
Students, contacted a graduate in Norfolk, VA.,
Genny Wong Slaughter, a Chinese-American,
The young musician is the
first student from Mainland
China to attend Chowan.
Mrs. Younts had strong Chowan ties
A woman with strong family ties
to Chowan, Willie Camp Younts of
Franklin, Va., wife of Charles R.
Younts, a retired petroleum ex
ecutive, died June 30, 1985 in her
Atlanta home.
Dr. Bruce E. Whitaker said Mrs.
Younts “expressed an apprecia
tion for the purpose, program and
service of the college and the cause
of Christian higher education.”
Father was Trustee
Dr. Whitaker said Mrs. Younts’
father, Paul D. Camp, served as a
member of the Board of Trustees
for over two decades (1885-1909)
and supported the college in many
ways.
A sister, Mrs. Texie Camp
Marks of Boykins, Va., is a
member of the Board of Advisors
and has been active in develop
ment campaigns to advance the
college. Another sister, the late
Ruth Camp Campbell of Franklin,
Va., supported many worthy
causes including Chowan,
Whitaker noted. He said other
family members have supported
the college over the years.
Franklin Native
Mrs. Younts, who with her hus
band was known for her philan-
thropical works, was born in
Franklin.
After her marriage in 1930, she
lived in various eastern states
before moving to Atlanta in 1941,
where Mr. Younts was president
and later chairman of the board of
Plantation Pipe Line Co.
She was a member of Second
Ponce De Leon Baptist Church and
chairman of its building commit
tee. She maintained a wide interest
in civic and social activities and
had served as a member of the
boards of the Henrietta Egleston
Children’s Hospital and the Chur
ch’s Homes for Business Girls Inc.
She was the Georgia state regent
for the Kenmore Association and
was president of the Neighborhood
Garden Club and the Garden Clubs
of Atlanta.
She was a graduate of Hollins
College and had been awarded the
Hollins Medal in recognition of her
contributions to the college and to
American society. She also had
received the Algernon Sidney
Sullivan Award, presented to in
dividuals for their “spirit of love
for and helpfulness to other men
and women.”
Since graduating from Hollins,
she had assisted many students in
attending the institution through
gifts and scholarships and had
served as a member of the board of
trustees, the Hollins Alumnae
Association and the Committee for
Annual Giving. She was a member
of the Piedmont Driving Club and
the Capitol City Club. In Franklin,
she had made possible the con
struction of the Willie Camp
Younts Public Safety Building.
to ask for her help and advice. She suggested
he contact Virginian- Pilot columnist, Larry
Bonko. This began “an amazing chain of
events,” Lewis noted.
Featured in Article
When Bonko heard the story, he quickly
agreed to write an article, which appeared
under the title, “Young Chinese Musician Hits
Financially Sour Note.” Lewis said the article
produced a number of financial contributions
including one from the author.
Lewis recommended her for the $2,000
Herbert Hugh Lewis Schoarship named in
memory of his father. Just before her arrival
on campus the student to whom the scholarship
had originally been awarded decided to attend
a college closer to his home as a commuting
student.
Rotary Scholarship
Lewis, a Rotarian, appealed to the Student
Exchange Committee of District 771 for a
scholarship for Mei. District 771 responded by
naming Mei a Rotary exchange student and
providing her with a $2,000 scholarship. Lewis
said this was an unusual move as the students
are normally selected while still in their home
country.
Mei was befriended by Winslow Carter, the
college’s director of admissions, and his wife
who invited her to stay with their family until
the dormitories opened. Carter, a Chowan
alumnus, had served as a Southern Baptist
missionary journeyman to Kenya after his
graduation from Campbell University.
On her part, Mei served as babysitter for the
couple’s two children. Through Carter and
Carole Nicholson, a member of the music
faculty, Mei Yan received invitations to play
the violin in area churches and groups. Some
paid her for her playing.
Nicholson is also choir director and organist
at First Presbyterian Church of Ahoskie. After
Mei played there at a Sunday morning worship
service, the church offered to pay the final
$1,129 she owed on her tuition and fees.
Lewis said Mei has a “Christian
background.” Her uncle is a retired Lutheran
pastor who was raised in Manchuria and or-
daind in Hong Kong in 1951. He now lives in
Ohio with his wife.
In a letter to Lewis, the uncle explained that
Mei’s great grandparents and grandparents
were Lutheran pastors in Manchuria. Her
grandparents were imprisoned for many years.
Her grandfather died in 1960 and her grand
mother starved to death in 1966. Her father was
once a student of the Baptist Truth Seminary in
Peking. He is now concert master of Broad
casting Symphony Orchestra of China in
Peking.
Mei and her violin are almost inseparable. At
a recent dinner on the green she serenaded the
students as they ate on the front lawn. Mei had
violin in hand when the faculty and staff first
met her at their semester-opening banquet. She
played dinner background music. Almost every
Sunday she plays at a church service and
regularly plays at women’s and civic groups.
Mei said she is happy with her choice of
Chowan College. “I have made many friends
among the students and faculty and staff. They
are very friendly and helpful.”
She said she Ukes the atmosphere of a small
college and personal help she is receiving in
English and her other subjects.
She reports she also loves Murfreesboro,
“because it is quiet and pretty and the people
are friendly.”
Grateful for Help
She says she is grateful for the outpouring of
help and affection she has received from many
different persons and groups. She gives special
thanks to Dean Lewis, the Carter family, and
Mrs. Nicholson for their support.
Mei Yan said she plans to continue her music
studies at a senior college and then a con
servatory in America after completing two
years at Chowan. After that, “I would like to
play in an orchestra in America or China.”
The Chowanian, October, 1985—PAGE FIVE