What is the Youth Ambassadors Program?
The Youth Ambassadors Program is the BXSCC’s student leadership development program, which may include a trip to China. The chaperoned trip consists of site visits, educational classes, and cultural immersion. Baltimore / DC-area site visits may also be included as part of the program.
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Where Do We Go?
Every trip, we go to our sister city of Xiamen. Additional city visits may also be included as part of the itinerary.
For 2025, the trip included a visit to the state of Maryland’s sister province of Anhui, Nanjing, which is home to Johns Hopkins’ Chinese campus, and China’s industrial and commercial center, Shanghai.
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When is the Youth Ambassadors Program?
Summer, between late June and mid-August.
For 2025, the group departed Baltimore on July 15th and arrived back in the U.S. on August 1st.
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Who is Eligible?
All Youth Ambassadors trip student participants should be 14 to 18-year-old Maryland residents (or Maryland-based), with priority given to Baltimore City residents or students. Rising high school freshmen and graduating seniors are eligible.
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What Does the Program Cost?
The value of the program is over $7,000 per participant, inclusive of all transportation, lodgings, meals, and group activities. Actual program costs will vary from year to year*, pending fundraising levels. As a nonprofit organization, the BXSCC will do our best to make the program affordable through fundraising and grants. Leftover funds after the program has completed are refunded to the Youth Ambassadors. If you are interested in donating to this program, please follow the link below; specify the BXSCC and its Youth Ambassadors Program as the beneficiary.
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When Do I Apply?
If you are interested in getting involved in the Youth Ambassadors Program, please contact the BXSCC.
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Key Staff for the 2025 Program
Chelsea Nakabayashi is the BXSCC’s Vice Chair and a faculty member at Baltimore City College. She is responsible for outreach to and support of the youth ambassadors and their families, and serves–for a second year in a row–as the lead chaperone of the program. Nakabayashi holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, MAs from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the University of Masschusetts–Amherst, and a PhD from Beijing Normal University. As a Maryland state-certified educator in Chinese, Nakabayashi enjoys providing Baltimore youth with opportunities to build friendly U.S-China ties.
Jeannette Felton is the BXSCC’s long-time Education Subcommittee Chair.
Justin Lipsky is the Treasurer of the BXSCC and the key staff handling financial matters for the 2025 Youth Ambassadors Program.
Rosanna Mantova is the Assistant Director of International Affairs at Maryland’s Office of the Secretary of State and the lead liaison between the Office of the Secretary of State, the Anhui Foreign Affairs Office, and the BXSCC for the 2025 Youth Ambassadors Program.
Xin (Cindy) Wang is the BXSCC’s Chair and responsible for overseeing the organization’s overall structural support for this program. Cindy is a past recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship for high-achieving students with significant financial need, studied abroad during college through the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), and has served as a volunteer English-language lecturer in rural Jiangxi Province, China. She presently manages strategic operations for a Maryland machinery manufacturer.
Sam Walczak is BXSCC’s Secretary and a key member of this year’s project team. In addition to his committee responsibilities, Sam maintains the BXSCC website and communications. Sam has previously lived and worked in China as a software engineering project manager and has an academic background focused on U.S.-China academic exchanges.
Fang Wu is a key contributor on planning meeting records-keeping and the lead liaison to participant families during the trip itself.
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Media Coverage of the 2025 Trip
Shout-out by Baltimore’s Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, via Instagram
Video and article from our group’s time in Xiamen from Xiamen TV, all in Chinese: 2025美国“青年大使”鹭岛行活动举行
Another video and article from our group’s time in Xiamen from Xiamen TV, all in Chinese: 友城来客！：当巴尔的摩遇见厦门 友谊地久天长
Article posted on the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China’s microblog “Broad Pacific”, all in Chinese: 携手青春之约 共筑友谊之桥
The same content and title, posted on the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States’ microblog, all in Chinese: 携手青春之约 共筑友谊之桥
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Media Coverage of Past Trips
Video from our group’s time in Xiamen from Xiamen Star, with English audio and Chinese captions: 2024美國「青年大使」鷺島行圓滿舉行
Blurb and video about our group’s time in Anhui from Xinhua News, in English: American students explore Chinese culture in Anhui Province
Article about our group’s time in Anhui from China News, in Chinese: 感登黄山、访宏村 美国师生领略世界遗产之美
Article in China Daily Global Edition: “Baltimore students wowed by Xiamen”
Article in The Afro: “Baltimore Man Takes Students to China to Educate and Be Educated”
Article in Xiamen news: “Xiamen Shining in the Eyes of Two Baltimore Area Brothers”
Article in Xiamen news: “Baltimore Teenagers visit Xiamen in Sister-Cities Exchange Trip”
Article in Shanghai news: “Long Live With Our Friendship”
Article in 厦门网: “巴尔的摩学生代表团访厦 携手英文小记者体验厦门文化”
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Reflections from Past Program Participants
2025 Youth Ambassador Sydney B..
“My second time in Anhui not only as a youth ambassador but as a representative of the State of Maryland has been an amazing experience. I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful city of Huangshan again and not only being able to show my family and friends pictures but to have my father with me this time to experience these things like hiking a mountain and cooking traditional Chinese foods. Being able to come to Anqing for the first time and see the city where Anhui gets its name has been wonderful. Also interacting with Chinese students my age and learning the history of the Flying Tigers has definitely been the highlight of this trip for me. This is an experience that I will carry with me forever. I am honored to be here to celebrate the relationship between Maryland and Anhui and I can wait to see more of Anhui Province.”
2025 Youth Ambassador Jewel C.
“大家好！Dajia hao！The past few days of serving as a youth ambassador in China have been truly unforgettable. From the moment I arrived, I was struck by the warmth of the people and the deep sense of history and culture that surrounds everything, from the streets to the food to the architecture. One of the highlights of my trip was visiting Huangshan, the Yellow Mountain. Standing above the clouds and seeing those iconic peaks felt like stepping into a traditional Chinese painting. This journey has deepened my appreciation for China and inspired me even more to continue learning the Chinese language. I believe that language is a bridge, and I’m excited to keep building connections between cultures. Thank you, Anhui, for your beauty, your hospitality, and the memories I’ll carry with me forever. 谢谢！Xiexie!”
2025 Youth Ambassador Delores C.
“This has been my first time in China and I’m beyond grateful that I have gotten to experience the beautiful province of Anhui. This beautiful city of Anqing alongside its welcoming community has surely left a mark on my heart. My experience here has given me more than just the experience of a trip abroad but has opened me up to the beautiful friendships that come with it. The ability to connect to others despite a language barrier, different upbringings, and cultural differences has meant so much to me. It was so beautiful and touching the way that Anhui has continued to memorialize the Flying Tigers. I hope that we may continue to cherish our relationship not only for another 40 years, but longer into the future. I will hold the people, history learned, memories that my peers and I have created together.”
2025 Youth Ambassador Nex C.
“During my time in Anhui, I have been introduced to many wonderful people. Everyone here has been so kind and welcoming. It’s so amazing that I even considered moving here in the future. My favorite part of this trip to Anhui was climbing the Yellow Mountain, even though the walk was rough. We made it to our destination, and the views were to die for. Sadly, I didn’t get to see any monkeys, but I did see the wonderful smiles of all the locals, and it just brought so much happiness to my heart. When I get back to Maryland, I will make sure to share my findings with my peers and encourage them to seek out the same experiences that have enlightened me. And I want to thank everyone that made it possible for this journey.””
2025 Youth Ambassador Nyiohbe R.
“Building Bridges, Opening Doors”
Good evening to everyone here with me in China and good morning to everyone who has called in from America. Today, I stand before you to speak not just as someone with a deep desire to serve as a Foreign Service Officer and diplomat in the future, but as someone whose life has been shaped by the powerful ties of trade, family, and cultural exchange. My family has long been involved in commodity exchange; particularly rare earth minerals sourced from the heart of Africa. And through this, I’ve witnessed firsthand how trade is more than economics — it’s a bridge. A bridge between people, between countries, between futures. It’s that very bridge that brings the world to China, and China to the world. And today, more than ever, the world is relying on us — the next generation to keep these bridges strong.
In these challenging times, we need programs that inspire young minds, programs that encourage global understanding, and that give students a chance to see the world. Not just through a screen, but through their own eyes. This is why I wholeheartedly support this educational and diplomatic exchange program. I also believe it would be a powerful investment if we could take a step forward and include programs like this for the State of Maryland to include it in its budget — not as an expense, but as a promise to our future and our forever growing roots with China.
When we walked the streets of Fujian, we saw the legacy of multiple businesses that have thrived for seven generations. We saw the artistry of seven generations of puppet performers at the Fujian puppet museum who were actively preserving Chinese values, heritage, and resilience. It was a stark reminder that culture is continuity as well as strength.
As we explored Anhui, we got the chance to climb and explore the Yellow Mountain and discovered the beauty of the black mountain with its white clouds surrounding it. While on the mountain, I even got to witness first-hand how things such a tools and food were transported up the mountain via cable car and then carried the rest of the way on the shoulders of hardworking people.
What I’ve learned from this is that we must celebrate Chinese culture and the role it plays in shaping global connections. We must create opportunities to link cities across China with Maryland and Baltimore — opening doors, deepening friendships, and inspiring young minds to explore beyond their borders. The bridges we build between China and the United States, particularly at the people-to-people level, are essential to our shared future.
Let me be clear, the world is watching and is relying on us — the next generation of leaders, diplomats, and educators — to keep the doors of understanding open.
Let us open those doors — between Baltimore and Xiamen, between Maryland and Anhui — and let us ensure that our students have the chance to walk through them. Because kids deserve that chance. Doors deserve to be opened. And diplomacy, in its truest form, begins not in boardrooms, but in classrooms — in communities, and in the stories we share with one another. Let us move forward — together — in support of a program that not only builds bridges but becomes one. Thank you.”
2025 Youth Ambassador Kimora S.
“Visiting Anhui and its cities of Huangshan and Anqing has been such an amazing experience. I have really enjoyed learning about the culture, hearing the language, and meeting the people. Everyone has been friendly, and the place feels so different in a good way from Baltimore. In Huangshan, I couldn’t believe the mountains were so high and truly beautiful. Climbing them was hard, but I’m glad I did it. It felt good to reach such a high elevation and take in the amazing views. The trees, the clouds, everything just looked stunning. I also liked walking around, trying new food, and just seeing how people live at Hongcun Village and Anqing. My experience here in Maryland’s sister state, Anhui, has been fun, interesting, and something I’ll always remember. This is truly a special place, and I’m so happy I have had the opportunity to be here with you to celebrate this special anniversary.”
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Thanks
The Youth Ambassadors Program staff, participants, & parents thank the following entities for their generous financial support of the 2025 program: Maryland Humanities’ Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE Grant and Bard College.
We also thank the Office of Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott, the Office of the City Council President of Baltimore, the Enoch Pratt Free Library System, Bard High School Early College – Baltimore, the Office of the Secretary of State of Maryland, the Maryland-Anhui Province Sister State Committee, Maryland Center China, the Xiamen Municipal Government’s Foreign Affairs Office, Xiamen Airlines, the Anhui Province Foreign Affairs Office, the Anhui Province Department of Education, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Shanghai Business and Tourism School, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States, and many other individuals and organizations for their support including in-kind donations.
In honor of our late treasurer and Youth Ambassadors program co-founder Arella Yan Liu, the BXSCC is providing special need-based funding for select participants under the “Arella Yan Liu Scholarship Program”.
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Profiles of Past Programs
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