Each April, the International Society—an organization that connects Latter-day Saint professionals, along with friends of the Church, who are involved in international activities—holds its annual conference on BYU campus, where academics, politicians, and Church personnel from around the world come together to discuss issues of interest to International Society members.
A longstanding tradition at this conference is the presentation of the Distinguished Service Award, which is given to a recipient who “has made significant professional contributions to the international community while embodying the core principles of the Society,” according to the Society website. In April 2025, the International Society leadership took the unusual step of giving the Distinguished Service Award not to a person, but to a program: the BYU China Teachers Program.
Since 1989, the China Teachers Program, which is hosted by the Kennedy Center for International Studies, has facilitated sending English-speaking teachers to Chinese universities. “This program can be understood through the lens of public diplomacy and outreach,” says Cory Leonard, Associate Director of the Kennedy Center, who is also on the International Society Executive Committee. “It connects experienced individuals and couples with Chinese students, and works best on an individual level, teacher to student. This tie between them is long-lasting, sincere, and deep.”
The decision to give the Distinguished Service Award to the China Teachers Program, he says, was based on a desire to “recognize the long-standing impact that the BYU China Teachers Program has had building bridges of understanding, friendship, and connection between the people of China and the university. Education is powerful, and for this reason we wanted to recognize this important work done by so many teachers over many years.”
The World Is Our Campus
Judy Batschi agrees that the impact of the program comes from its ability to connect program participants with Chinese university students in a meaningful way. “It is a people-to-people program that improves relationships one person at a time, one class at a time, a thousand students at a time—whatever the case may be.”
Judy and her husband, Matt Batschi, are the deputy directors of the China Teachers Program. They assist Jeff Ringer, who is the director of the program as well as an associate international vice president of BYU, with recruiting, preparing, and supporting teachers. They’ve been involved since 2019, when they signed up for the program and moved to Beijing to teach at China Foreign Affairs University. After several years teaching both in person and online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were asked to step in as deputy directors of the program in 2024.
The aftermath of the pandemic has affected everything they’ve done as deputy directors; the worldwide shutdown dropped program numbers—which used to be as high as 75 teachers traveling to China each year—down to just 11. Since then, they’ve been working hard to bring those numbers back up; 2025–2026 will be the largest year since the pandemic, with almost 40 teachers currently planning to go.
So it’s gratifying for them to have the Distinguished Service Award recognize the amazing work the program has done, even with the unexpected complications of the last five years. “It is wonderful recognition for BYU China Teachers Program, being able to represent the worldwide focus and mission of BYU and the International Society,” says Judy.
Matt adds, “We support BYU’s emphasis that the world is our campus.”
A Unique Opportunity
For those interested in spending time abroad doing something meaningful, this program offers a unique opportunity: “Right now, this is the only official program that BYU has in the People’s Republic of China,” Judy points out. The program seeks out native English speakers who are interested in teaching at Chinese universities; the minimum commitment is one academic year, but many China Teachers end up deciding to stay longer. These days, classes are once again being held in person.
Most participants teach English language classes—often upper-level conversation courses—but some are also asked by their universities to teach courses related to their areas of expertise, such as business or law. Classes are taught entirely in English—exposure to native English speakers is one of the benefits that teachers provide to their host universities and students—and no Chinese language skills are required.
The Batschis are quick to point out that this is an academic service opportunity, not a missionary one; Chinese law currently prevents foreign nationals from proselyting to Chinese nationals. But just because it’s called an academic service opportunity doesn’t mean it’s purely a volunteer endeavor.
“The experience is financially self-sustaining,” Judy says. “Round trip airfare is provided, and the Chinese university provides an apartment on campus; there's also a modest monthly salary that more than covers your costs for living in China. This provides the opportunity to travel around China or elsewhere in Asia. So this is a very life-expanding opportunity.” She says they always tell teachers, “You don't go to get rich, except for in experience and blessings.” But on the other hand, you don’t have to spend all your savings to have this international experience, either.
Requirements to participate are simple: you need to be a native English speaker who holds a college degree and has at least a few years of professional experience (in any field), and you cannot have any dependent children at home. Additionally, because of Chinese regulations, it’s difficult (though not impossible) to get work visas after age 65, so interested participants are encouraged to plan to go before they reach that age.
In the past, many of the participants have been American couples in their 50s and 60s, but the Batschis are eager to let people know that this is by no means a requirement. “This is not a Provo-centered program,” says Matt. “We have teachers from South Africa, Canada, and New Zealand.”
2025–2026 will also see some of their youngest-ever participants: a few of the teachers are in their twenties. “This is not a ‘right out of college’ thing to do,” Judy says. “But the program does accept younger people who have had some years of professional experience in their field.” It is also open to both single people and married couples and always has a mix of both among its teachers.
“I Had No Idea It Was Going to Be Like This”
Those who’ve been involved in the China Teachers Program know that it changes lives for the better—for the students, but also for the teachers.
Putting English-speaking teachers in front of classrooms full of Chinese students builds bridges of understanding between the two groups. Judy recalls a writing class assignment done by one of her students: “He wrote about a conversation that he had with a friend of his who had read some things in the media and had some very negative thoughts about Americans. And this student stood up to his friend and said, ‘I don't know about others, but I know two Americans who are my teachers, and they are not like that.’ Things like that tell me that this program is making a difference.”
The bonds formed between students and teachers even transcend the limitations of Zoom classes. Though much of the Batschis’ teaching was done online, their students grew to love them; they recall one experience when, on the first day of school, they ran into so many former students who wanted to stop and talk to them on their way to the cafeteria that they never got around to eating lunch. “Even though we’d just been a little box on a Zoom screen that past year, there was still a connection,” Judy says. “They were so excited to meet in person.”
Another time, in the middle of quarantine, they invited their online students to come to a park in Beijing on a Saturday just to visit. “We had twenty students show up,” Judy recalls. “Some of them traveled two hours to get there. They were just thrilled to come say hello.”
The teachers become equally connected to their students. And these connections are increasingly important in a world that becomes more divided every day, especially when it comes to relations between China and the West. “Where are Western-Chinese relationships strong?” asks Judy. “Within the classroom, within the universities, within the cities where the BYU China Teachers are. And that’s such a contrast to the headlines. We talk with a lot of people who only see what's in the news, and they ask, ‘Is it really safe to go there?’ And so we're doing a lot of educating: ‘The people are wonderful. They're friendly. The universities want our teachers. And so, yes, you will end up having a very positive experience and they will be very accepting of you.’ It's such a contrast because we don't see much good news about China in the media.”
But the benefits of the China Teachers Program go beyond geopolitics and change individual lives in a very real way. Many teachers report staying in touch with their students for years. Matt recalls receiving a message from a student he’d taught several years earlier. Her life since graduation had not gone the way she’d expected; she’d met with failure in both academic and professional endeavors. She was frightened for her future. And in that moment of uncertainty, she turned to her old teacher to ask for his advice and guidance. “They’re reaching out to us,” Judy says. “We’re not their parents or their grandparents, but they know that we care about them.”
One of her own stories involves a student who is now pursuing a graduate degree. She had always been a quiet student, and it being an online class, Judy did not know her as well as some of the other students. But years later, the student sent this message on social media: “I've always appreciated everything you did for students back at CFAU. It's amazing that you're now helping other teachers experience teaching at Chinese universities through the BYU China Teachers Program. That program really made such a huge impact on me. And I truly believe it will benefit even more Chinese students in the future.”
“Five years after having her as a student, she’s reaching out,” Judy says. “It’s incredible. This was an online class, and yet it made a huge impact.”
In the past 36 years, there have been over fifteen hundred China Teachers, who have taught approximately two hundred and fifty thousand students. “Every single one of them has had that kind of impact on students’ lives,” says Judy. “And students have had impacts on their lives.” She reports that new teachers often prefer to only sign a one-year contract with their universities, as they don’t know whether they’ll like it. But after being in China for a while, she says, “they tell us, ‘I had no idea it was going to be like this. I had no idea I would learn to love my students, the Chinese people, as I do. I need to go back again.’”
It's that willingness to love, to serve, and to embrace students on the far side of the world that makes the China Teachers Program work. In that vein, Matt reflects, “The Distinguished Service Award isn’t about us; it’s about the teachers.”
Each teacher, says Judy, has stories like the ones the Batschis shared: about enduring connections forged between people who wouldn’t have otherwise met, whose governments may be at odds, who don’t even speak the same language. “There are thousands of these stories.”
Excellence and Service
The International Society website says that Distinguished Service Award recipients’ “achievements and personal integrity inspire others to pursue similar paths of excellence and service, furthering the mission of the Society.”
And the hope of sparking that kind of inspiration, says Leonard, is one reason the China Teachers Program was chosen for the award: “We hope that by raising awareness of the China Teachers Program, future participants will be inspired to do this important work as educators, despite challenges, tensions, and other obstacles in their lives or globally.”
The China Teachers Program accepts applicants year-round and is always happy to answer questions. Their website features resources and information, along with contact information.
“We sometimes say the China Teachers Program is the best-kept secret at BYU,” says Judy. “But we don't want it to be a secret. We want everyone to know about the opportunities that are there and about the lives that have been changed. I love it. I love it.”