Michael Crook's mother is Isabel Crook (1915-2023), a Canadian educator who lived and worked in China for more than 90 years. She witnessed and participated in the development of China's foreign language education. For him, the medal represents not just his mother's service, but the family's century-long devotion to bridging cultures through education.

A family of educators 

For more than a century, her family has devoted itself to education in China, from the classrooms of Chengdu in Sichuan Province to the lecture halls of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), and to an international school that enrolls students from around the world.

"Education has been the main profession of my family," Michael Crook said. His mother Isabel Crook was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, to a Canadian missionary couple over 100 years ago. Her father, Homer Brown, served as the Dean of the Education Faculty at West China Union University in the city. Her mother Muriel Brown, following the same path, founded the first Montessori kindergarten in Chengdu and later became the principal of a primary school there.

His parents were close to their students. One of their stories in particular has stayed with him. "My parents both loved the outdoors, often skating on a frozen lake at a park near BFSU during winters," Michael Crook said, adding that as they sometimes took students skating with them, his family had a large collection of skates of different sizes. One winter, as a student changed from shoes into skates, Isabel Crook noticed he had no socks. "Some students were actually quite poor then. There was a need," Isabel Crook told her son.

That story helped inspire the Crooks Scholarship, established in 1996 with contributions from the Crook family, colleagues, and former students. Initially, it was need-based, supporting low-income students. As living standards in China rose, its focus shifted toward recognizing achievement and dedication.

Michael Crook remembers one moment that revealed the scholarship's reach. When he arrived at the Great Hall of the People for a rehearsal of the Friendship Medal award ceremony, which he attended on behalf of his then 104-year-old mother in 2019, a young person told him, "I'm the interpreter for President Xi Jinping. And I received the Crooks Scholarship for three years."

Michael Crook paused, his voice softening. "I just felt so proud. I thought, wow, my parents' dedication, their years of service to BFSU, is being remembered."

For nearly 40 years, Michael Crook has been blazing his own path in education. "Together with friends, we started an international school just over 30 years ago. This is the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB)," he said. The school emphasizes cultural understanding across its curriculum. "We have a China Studies office," he explained. "Instead of just holding courses in China Studies, we help teachers teaching different subjects to integrate Chinese culture across the curriculum."

On a tour of the WAB school grounds, Michael Crook stopped in front of a black wall. "It's our Peace Wall," he said. The wall is inscribed with sayings about peace in different languages, contributed by students from around the world: "Peace is our gift to each other." The wall, he explains, embodies the school's mission to promote peace.

In 2004, Michael Crook received the Chinese Government Friendship Award, a national-level award for foreign experts working in the country, in recognition of their contribution to China's development.

His daughter, too, has taken up the profession of teaching, working as a kindergarten teacher in Beijing. "I think education is a wonderful vocation," he said. "You don't make lots and lots of money, but there's a lot of joy to be had in seeing young people grow and learn skills."