On August 20, 2009, Professor Rick Halpern, dean and vice-principal at the University of Toronto Scarborough, hosted a special graduation ceremony for 148 students from the People’s Republic of China. The students participated in the Green Academic Preparation Program, a unique 12-week summer preparatory program.
Special guests from the People’s Republic of China included Madame Taoying Zhu, Consul General, and Education Consul Mr. Xiaochuang Wu. Following congratulatory speeches by university and Green Path administrators, the ceremony also included lunch and musical performances by students in the program.
The Green Path Academic Preparation Program is a U of T Scarborough initiative and partnership with Chinese high schools in six mainland cities: Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing and Tianjin. Green Path – which translates from Chinese as “the way to success” – enables students with top marks to participate in an academic and ESL program that prepares them for school and campus life. Once the students have successfully completed the Green Path program, they go directly into first-year undergraduate studies at U of T Scarborough.