Terryl Ashli Boxley, MA ’24
Ashli Boxley’s quest to become fluent in Mandarin Chinese began in sixth grade, when she enrolled in a Chinese language course that led to her resolve to master this challenging language, which requires, at minimum, a knowledge of about 3,000 characters and an ear for the different intonations that determine the meaning of many Chinese words.
“Everyone was taking Spanish or French, so I decided to take Chinese,” Boxley said.
By her sophomore year of high school, she was passionate about the language. Consequently, while studying for her graduate degree in Asian Studies, Boxley leapt at the chance to apply for a new student award, the David Gitter Fellowship for Advanced Chinese Language Study. The fellowship was established by Elliott School alumnus David Gitter, MA ’15, to support immersive Chinese language study in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or Taiwan.
Gitter, who lived and studied in Beijing in the early 2000s, saw first-hand how essential proficiency in the Chinese language is to a full understanding of this major world power—an understanding that lays the foundation for informed U.S.-China policies.
Dean Alyssa Ayres wholeheartedly agrees with Gitter. “Given China’s role on the world stage, there is a critical need to strengthen our cadre of U.S. experts who understand contemporary China—and are proficient in Mandarin,” she said.
In April, Boxley, who dreams of becoming an attorney focused on immigration law and US-China relations, was selected to be the inaugural recipient of the David Gitter Fellowship. From September 2024 through May 2025, she will be a fulltime student in the highly-regarded International Chinese Language Program (ICLP) on the campus of National Taiwan University in Taipei.
In a twist of fate, David Gitter also will be an ICLP student, honing his Chinese language skills in conjunction with his doctoral program at Princeton University.
The two met recently for a conversation about their shared passion for Chinese language, culture, history, and politics. Gitter had experienced life in the PRC during a time of expansion and openness. “It was such a dynamic time to be in Beijing, just before the 2008 Summer Olympics, a time when U.S. citizens were part of the boom in China’s development,” he said.
In more recent times, the U.S.-China relationship has stumbled, with a shift away from the more positive, bilateral ties that prevailed earlier in the century. Yet there are diplomatic pathways to a renewed and productive relationship between the two world powers.
Fortunately, David Gitter and Ashli Boxley (along with others) are poised to take up the mantle with a command of the modern Chinese language and a nuanced understanding of China’s long history, rich culture, and complex politics.