This section follows Song Chin Foh’s movement from Hangzhou, China, to Colby College and Springfield YMCA College in the U.S. His study abroad experience did not simply send him from China to the United States. It placed him inside a sequence of institutions that connected liberal arts education, Protestant student networks, campus athletics, and professional physical education training.
The map below should be read as an educational route. Colby gave Song a broader liberal arts and campus life experience, while Springfield turned physical education into professional preparation for work in China.
Study Abroad, 1916 to 1923
This map follows Song Chin Foh from missionary schooling in Hangzhou to preparatory study in New Hampshire, liberal arts education at Colby College, and professional physical education training at Springfield YMCA College.
Hangzhou: Wayland Academy
Song’s route to study abroad began with Wayland Academy, a Baptist missionary school in Hangzhou that connected local education, English-language preparation, athletics, and American college pathways.
New London, New Hampshire: Colby Academy
Before entering Colby College, Song spent a preparatory year at Colby Academy, now Colby-Sawyer College. This stop made the move from Chinese missionary schooling to an American college curriculum possible.
Waterville, Maine: Colby College
At Colby, Song joined YMCA committees, played class basketball and tennis, took part in the band, joined Pi Delta Phi, and graduated in 1921. The map should show Colby as more than an athletic stop.
Springfield, Massachusetts: International YMCA College
After Colby, Song studied at Springfield YMCA College. This stage turned campus athletic participation into professional preparation for physical education, school athletics, and later Olympic work in China.