Theo Carney OC ‘14

Shanxi Agricultural University, China (2014-16)

Theo Carney was a neuroscience major with strong Chinese and Spanish language skills. He spent six months in China his Junior year, teaching English over the summer to elementary students in Xi’an, and continuing into the fall studying Mandarin in CET’s Beijing Language Intensive. Theo had extensive teaching and community service experience as a Bonner Scholar, from team-teaching Chinese at Oberlin’s Prospect Elementary School, to being a baker and kitchen assistant at the Oberlin Early Childhood Center. As a neuroscience major, Theo interned in medical settings during the summers of 2011 and 2013, but is also deeply interested in Chinese culture and is inspired by the travel writing of Peter Hessler. While in Taigu, Theo shared his passion for cooking with the friends he made there. For Theo, travel punctuated the ups and downs of two years in Taigu. He describes “the freedom of crossing vast distances by oneself, and the joy of being met by friends at the end of those journeys—there is nothing like that.” He visited the Jaipur Literature Festival in India, holidayed in Sri Lanka, and made his way all over China.