Smithtown HSE Student Patrick Teese Off To China On State Department Scholarship

From Local Track to Global Trek for St. James Teen

Patrick Teese Off to China on State Department Scholarship

By Maureen Rossi

Patrick TeeseA normal summer for Patrick Teese might include a job, some projects for school and hanging out with friends.  It would be also be punctuated with trips to Short and Long Beach in his town of Smithtown and an occasional movie.  A few years back the seventeen year old volunteered at a track camp and said that was a lot of fun.

“My Aunt lives in Atlantic Beach on the South Shore one block from the beach so my cousins and I go there as well,” he shared.

This summer, however, there will be no sand in between the toes of the soon to be Smithtown East Senior; he will not be munching popcorn while catching a blockbuster hit.

Teese left for a six-week trip to China on Tuesday morning to study the language and the culture.

A recipient of a merit-based scholarship for American students to study language through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), he will be staying with a host family in Jiaxing, China.

NSLI-Y is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  The program was launched eight years back to increase Americans’ capacity to engage with native speakers of languages deemed critical to foreign relations.  This scholarship goes to fewer than six-hundred students throughout the U.S.

The scholarship covers the cost of domestic and international travel, tuition and related academic expenses, daily language classes and supporting cultural activities, room and board and secondary health benefits.   The program also includes trips to help American students learn Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Persian (Tajik), Russian and Turkish.

  It was a dream of Teese to study abroad and he contemplated it for some time.

“I found the information on the trip online.  The State Department pays for it — it was free — so I brought it up to my mom and started applying,” he explained.   Teese said he was thrilled when he learned he was awarded the scholarship. 

Patrick C. Teese, in his tuxedo, ready for the Senior Prom.The St. James teen spent his last night prior to a two-day orientation outside of Washington, DC with his parents and relatives at a family wedding.

“My cousin Nick has dated Jessica for a very long time and I wanted go up to the wedding in Cobleskill before I left,” he added.    Right after the wedding, he flew out of Albany to Virginia for his orientation.

  Teese said the orientation would cover safety, rules and procedures before he and other teens from around the country flew to Shanghai.  When asked if he would be joined by fellow Long Islander’s the teen said it wasn’t probable.

“There is someone from Queens going to same city a me – there are other people on Long Island who received this scholarship but there are a bunch of departure dates to different countries so we won’t meet half the kids,” he continued. 

He did say there was a Facebook page for the applicants and the alumni so the scholarship winners could ask question and share concerns.

“Through the alumni page I learned it’s supposed to be very hot and the consensus was that it was going to be a life-changing experience and that I should enjoy every minute of it,” he shared.

A language aficionado, Teese had German 4, French3 and Italian 1 as part of his junior year schedule at Smithtown High School East.  He’s also in AP English and a Student Aide to his German teacher, Frau Specht.  In addition, he is a member of the National Honor Society, the Math Honor Society, the German Honor Society, English Honor Society and Athletes Helping Athletes. 

His passion and interest don’t lie in academics alone.  Patrick is a Varsity athlete who partakes in the Cross Country, Winter Track and Spring Track seasons.

The 2014 Eddy Meet Champions: The Smithtown HS East 4x800 Meter Relay squad won the trophy and set a new school record of 8:05.16.  Pictured ()l-r) are Coach Kathie Borbet, Matt Whalen, Patrick Teese, Eric Herrmann, Eric Melcer, and Coach Kurt Margraf.“I absolutely love running but I’m not sure when I started running, probably in middle school when I started Cross Country in seventh grade,” he remembered.

The youngest of four siblings, all tremendous athletes, particularly when it came to volleyball, he laughed at his own feeble attempt at the game.

“I tried out for Volleyball in seventh grade but I hit the coach with the volleyball,” he shared.   “I also remember going to my brothers’ soccer games.  I was in the field and it was pretty cold and someone kicked the ball and hit me right in the face,” he shared.  Teese said he was only five or six but that might have taken away any continued interest in that sport.  

  Maybe soccer or volleyball weren’t on the radar for Teese but once he started running, it was apparent to most around him he was quite good at track. As the years went by he began to excel in the sport.  As ninth-grader, he was third in Suffolk County in the Freshman Cross Country championship.  As a sophomore, he was All-League in the Indoor 800 Meter Run.

This year, he was a key part of the Smithtown East Boys 4 x 800 Meter Relay squad that garnered the championship trophy, and a new record time for East, at the prestigious Eddy Meet in Schenectady.  He said that the event was particularly exciting. 

“We were seeded for second place and came in first and also landed a record for the school,” he explained.

  In addition to praising his athletic ability, his track coach, Kathie Borbet, praised everything about him.

“He is one in a million.  He is one of the most caring people I’ve ever met, he cares about every kid on the team, cleans up the garbage on track and on top of that he’s a really good runner,” she said.

She shared that she admires his dedication to the sport and the team and that he’s always helping and doing and she finds that amazing.

“He always helps me carry stuff to my car and at the end of the season he replaced my ratty red chair with a chair he had made for me with my name on it,” she added.

She said it was the best gift she ever received, that it was so very sweet of Patrick.

“He’s so smart, the kid has everything going for him,” said Borbet.   A school Nurse and the coach of the Cross Country, Winter and Spring Track Teams, she was the first to hear about his scholarship.

“I said ‘What did your parents say?’  He said ‘you’re the first to find out!’”  

  Peter Schieck was Teese’s German teacher in seventh grade when Patrick started his language studies. Schieck, the Smithtown West Boys Track coach, shared all of Coach Borbet’s sentiments about the young athlete.

“He’s a great kid, he’s very mature; this is a young man you want to see represent America,” said Schieck.   He added that everyone in the district is very proud of him.

In 2013, Patrick was honored by the American Association of German Teachers, Long Island Chapter, for his excellence on the National German exam.  Pictured are his German teacher, Frau Samantha Specht, Patrick, and Smithtown HS East principal Ed Thompson.   In a pre-departure interview Teese said he was enormously excited and feeling very adventurous, he said he had no trepidations about the six-week journey to a foreign land.

“I’m definitely looking forward to creating memories and I’m excited about meeting my host family and optimistically keeping a relationship them,” he shared.   Teese said the family has a fourteen-year old son.  He’s not sure if they all speak English, but said the son will probably have knowledge of it since many Chinese schools teach English.   

Teese (SHE Class of 2015) is not sure about what career he will pursue but said it will probably include something  to do with International Relations.   As to college choices, he hasn’t made any decisions yet.  He did share that he will most likely stay on the East Coast.

Patrick Teese will be blogging from China (in English not Mandarin) and we hope to share some of his adventures with our readers throughout the summer.   

Comments

[James B. Teese]

Very proud of my son Patrick! He's off to a great adventure and opportunity. Lots more to come from this young man!