Current Status: Alumni
Graduation Year: 2005
When Albert Wolfe (BA '05) arrived at Hope International University, he had no idea how the University’s “middle name” would take center stage in his life and career. As the son of alumni A. Edward Wolfe (‘74 ) and Louise Bennett Wolfe (‘77 ), he visited the campus, mostly to please his family (several other relatives are alumni, as well) . A tenacious enrollment recruiter who put together a good scholarship package sparked Albert’s interest in HIU.
Shortly after his arrival on campus from his home in Tempe, Arizona, Wolfe was assigned to serve as a mentor to a Korean student. “I had no idea why I was chosen for that mentoring role,” he said, “but it led me to realize that there was a world beyond mine, and I developed a passion to speak another language at a high level.” He came to study English Literature & Leadership but sharpened his focus on Intercultural Studies after the mentorship experience, during which he learned the Korean alphabet.
When he was a sophomore, a group of Chinese students spent a semester at HIU, and he became intrigued with China and the Chinese language. “My final paper in college focused on the idea that, if you can speak English and Mandarin, you can do business almost anywhere in the world,” Wolfe recalled. “For me, there was something compelling about China – it was big, exciting, and maybe even a little scary.”
Shortly after graduation from HIU, Wolfe earned his certificate to teach English as a second language (TESOL) and moved to China, where he taught English in the university system for more than a decade on an official work visa. He was then invited to work with one of his colleagues to establish a language immersion school, The Fountains, in Guangzhou, where he currently serves as Principal. The school curriculum is taught in Chinese and English to the young offspring (ages two through six) of local professionals, and the campus also rents space to an official government church, the Three-Self Church. “We have a wonderful community, and our faculty members actually live on the campus,” he said. “Many families from the school become interested in a new perspective and then come to visit the church, too.”
Wolfe believes that his HIU experience uniquely prepared him for his work in China, including a martial arts class that incorporated a “Fight the Dean” component. “I owe all my international interest to HIU, and I can’t even begin to list all the faculty and staff members who made a difference in my life,” he commented, citing Cora Alley, Steve Edgington, Steve Richardson, Jim Woest, and Matt Edson. Albert’s foreign language adventure has led him not only to publish a language textbook, Chinese 24/7, but also led him to the love of his life, Eva Wu Lihua, who he met at the church and married last November. Eva is a Chinese national and a professor at a university in Guangzhou.
