Global Citizen AwardsAdam Soley

Throughout my undergraduate studies at MMU I worked as a football coach in the USA for two summers, as well as gaining a place on he ‘Study China programme winter 2012-2013’.

Summer 2011: Chicago, ILSummer 2012: San Diego, CAWinter 2012: Beijing, China

Experiencing new places helps you learn not just about the new place, people and culture… but you learn about yourself too.

Study China Winter 2012/13

When it’s -18°C and a Chinese immigrant child-worker’s face lights up on Christmas Eve when I taught them something new, I realised there’s a language we all have in common no matter who or where in the world you’re from.

Studying Chinese Social Development and Public policy, additional to Mandarin Chinese, I learnt of the complex political control in the country including:• The Hukou registration system, where people in urban

areas adhere to different rules to people of rural areas and it’s purpose to stop economic collapse.

• The one child policy, which is vital to stop over crowding, pollution or at worst a mass starvation.

• The understanding of mental health.• The immigrant working population that travel around

the country for work.

Challenger Sports 2011/2012It’s not all easy… sometimes I couldn’t be with the people I

loved when they needed me…

…but when I realised I have family the other side of the world that care for me… I learnt we’re all just Global Citizens.

Working across the windy Midwest, the dry Mojave Desert and on the golden West coast of the US I did not expect to learn about our society here in the UK 6,000 miles away! Living with families and travelling week by week to teach a new group of children I learnt more about myself and my own culture:• Understanding the importance of welfare, even in the richest places on earth there

is poverty.• Health, and the importance that everyone should be entitled to health and

happiness.• Education, the more I learn the less I know, there’s a place in the world for

everyone.