Tim Davis wants you to go to China.

Specifically, the president of English Language Institute/China (ELIC) wants at least 30 Cornerstone University students to volunteer in China’s Sichuan province. The project is a partnership between ELIC and CU, called Camp China.

The province was badly damaged by a powerful earthquake, known as the Great Sichuan Earthquake on May 12, 2008, and is still rebuilding. At least 69,000 people were killed, and millions were left homeless.

This is why the Chinese government has asked ELIC to help, Davis said. ELIC hopes to recruit several groups of eight CU students to volunteer four to five weeks out of their summer.

“ELIC will be part of the recovery, but Sichuan won’t recover in a year or two,” Davis said. “It will take a lifetime. We’ll be there on an ongoing basis, to encourage, help and educate the people.”

Most of the area’s teachers were killed in the earthquakes, crushed by the school buildings where they taught, Davis said.

“We’re also looking for several students who will graduate this year to spend one to two years teaching English in Asia,” Davis said.

“There are two great days in every person’s life: the day they are born, and the day they discover why they were born,” Davis said in his chapel address. He believes some students at CU were born to go to China.

He went on to compare life to a cross-country race. Most of life is lived on the backside of the track when no one is watching, not on the start and finish lines.

ELIC’s international headquarters is in Fort Collins, Colo., the place Davis calls home. He spends much of his time on the road in Asia, he said. One area that he visits often is Hong Kong.

“We have a large base in Hong Kong,” Davis said. “We have a lot of very avid supporters there.”

China is not the only place where ELIC is active. They have teachers in Cambodia, China, Tibet, Mongolia, Laos and Vietnam.

Davis said each English teacher ELIC sends to Asia teaches about 200 students at a time. Most of the teachers work in universities. ELIC works with Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., to train its teachers to go to China.

The governments of the countries they work in are almost always pleased with ELIC’s efforts. They work mostly with ambassadors and officials from countries’ education ministries to get permission to work in their countries, Davis said.

CU President Joe Stowell attended an ELIC conference in Asia in January. Stowell invited Davis to speak at Cornerstone.

“We’ve been friends for a number of years,” Davis said.

As was announced in the chapel, Joseph Stowell Jr. became ELIC’s executive vice president July 1, 2008. He is CU President Joe Stowell’s son.

Stowell Jr. worked for 10 years in the foreign currency and bond business before being hired by ELIC. He lived in Japan for several years, which gave him a unique mix of experiences and skills in Asian culture and business, he said.

“When the opportunity came to work with ELIC, I was already equipped,” Stowell Jr. said.

As executive vice president, he will oversee all aspects of the organization, including advancement, mobilization, strategy and governmental relations, he said.

His first contact with ELIC was in 1997. Stowell was living in Japan at the time, and he visited ELIC’s headquarters in Beijing, China, during a trip to the country.

“Ever since, I have been a supporter and fan of what they do.”