Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Alumnus Profile: Manuel Pena

Manuel Pena
HNC MAIS '12

Hometown: 
Naples, FL

Undergraduate Institution and Major:
University of Alabama, B.A. in Economics

Favorite course at the Center:
International Political Economics with Shu Jianzhong

Why did you choose the Hopkins-Nanjing Center?
I had always wanted to formally study international relations, and knew that I wanted to return to China after graduating from college. The Center was the only school capable of providing me the type of education that I wanted. I didn't consider any other program.

What are you doing now?
I'm a business analyst for a nuclear consulting company in Shanghai.

How did the HNC prepare you for your job?
The Center enabled me to work confidently in a Chinese-speaking professional environment. I never feel intimidated speaking or reading Chinese anymore.  The Center also helped me to grasp how the Chinese approach and resolve problems, which I would argue is as invaluable as the language skills I developed there.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Graduation Day!

It's commencement day at the HNC!  Below are a selection of photos from the ceremony.  Congratulations to all HNC students!

“Your Hopkins-Nanjing education places you in a perfect position to make great things happen.  As I look out at all of you, I can see and feel a powerful promise – a promise that you will move civilization forward.”  
Gary Locke, HNC Commencement speech, June 21, 2013


HNC Choir at Commencement

Co-Director Huang Chengfeng

Co-Director Jason Patent

Class of 2013

Ambassador Gary Locke

MAIS students wait to collect their diplomas

Ambassador Gary Locke and NJU Chancellor Hong passing out diplomas

Certificate students wait to collect their diplomas

A recent graduate proudly displays her certificate

Congrats class of 2013!

MAIS '13

Celebrating in the courtyard following the ceremony

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Last Week of Classes at the HNC!

It's the last week of the academic year at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center so students are busy finishing exams and gearing up for tomorrow's commencement ceremony where Ambassador Gary Locke will be the international graduation speaker.

Admissions coordinator Sallie You is in Nanjing for the festivities and shared the following photos as students gathered in the student lounge to collect their HNC t-shirts, tote bags, and other memorabilia.



 
HNC students say goodbye in a variety of languages


Congrats to all students graduating tomorrow!  Look out for our next blog post with pictures from the ceremony.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Obtaining a Chinese Visa and Residence Permit

Incoming Hopkins-Nanjing Center students are responsible for procuring their own student (“X”) or tourist (“L”) visa through the nearest Chinese embassy or consulate.  If you cannot visit the embassy or consulate in person, you may hire a travel agent or visa agent to obtain your visa for you.  Be sure to apply for your visa at least one month, but no more than 90 days before your date of departure from your home country.

Students who indicated on their pre-departure forms their intent to apply for a student visa will be sent the appropriate documentation (a JW202 form and invitation letter from Nanjing University) before the end of June.  Students who listed a summer address in Asia will receive these documents directly from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center.  All other students will receive a package from the HNC Washington Support Office.

 

Due to time regulations with the student visa, all students arriving in China more than 30 days before orientation week in order to travel prior to the start of the semester must apply for a tourist visa.  For most students in this situation, a 60 or 90-day tourist visa will be appropriate. 

After you arrive in Nanjing, the Center will help you to submit a residence permit application to the Public Security Bureau.  The residence permit, a visa-like page in your passport, allows you to reside in China for as long as the permit is valid and to exit and reenter the country as often as you want, without requiring any additional paperwork or visa expense.  Residence permits sponsored by the Center will be valid until August 2014 for certificate students and August 2015 for master’s students. 

Regulations and Policies:
Physical Exams for Master’s Students:
Because MAIS students are enrolling in a two-year program, they must complete a medical exam before applying for the residence permit.  The exam will be done during orientation week upon your arrival at the Center. However, if you have, or suspect you have any serious health problems, you should see your health-care provider in your home country to consult with them about the best way to handle your issues while in China. 

Physical Exams for Certificate Students:
Students in the Certificate program are not required to submit medical examination results in order to obtain residence permits, unless they have been living/studying in China prior to coming to the Center, and will have lived in China for 365 days or longer when the program concludes on graduation day, June 13, 2014.

For more detailed information and step-by-step instructions, please see your orientation handbook or contact us.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Meet Sallie You, New HNC Admissions Coordinator!

The Hopkins-Nanjing Center Office of International Admissions is pleased to welcome Sallie You as a new admissions coordinator.  Sallie will recruit at universities this fall, act as a member of the admissions committee, and support students at every step of the way from applicant to enrolled student.  

Sallie graduated from Michigan State University with an International Relations degree specializing in Asian Studies.  Previously she worked as a writer for an international broadcasting company in Seoul, South Korea.  More recently, she worked at the Johns Hopkins University Advanced Academic Programs as the Admissions Coordinator, recruiting and assisting prospective and current students.  Sallie is currently based in DC and will be visiting the Center at the end of this week to attend graduation and to familiarize herself with the Center. She is very excited to meet students and faculty.

Sallie is replacing Margaux Fimbres, who will be pursuing her master's degree full time this fall at SAIS.  We wish Margaux the best of luck in her studies!

Monday, June 10, 2013

HNC and the 13th Annual Sheraton Kingsley Dragon Boat Challenge!

Congratulations to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center dragon boat team for making it to the semi-finals as part of today's dragon boat race!  To learn more about the experience of participating in dragon boat, read a post by alumna Margaux Fimbres here and check out the pictures from today's race below:

Congrats to the 2013 dragon boat team!
 
The 2013 dragon boat team

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Around Nanjing, literally!

MAIS student Natalie Sammarco explores the area surrounding Nanjing:

"Given the rigorous nature of our classes, it’s easy to get caught up in school work in Nanjing. Many times weeks go by and then one realizes just how much time she* has spent indoors, not venturing out to get to know Nanjing. I will tell you about two of the more out-of-the-way places that are worth a visit or two when you come to this city!

Ox-head Mountain (牛首山
- níushǒushān) - This is a scenic area located to the south of Nanjing, about 45 minutes car ride away. I went there with one of my friends and her Chinese roommate. The Chinese student’s family picked us up in their family’s car and drove us through the city and through mountains to the scenic area.

It was quite pretty to see the scenery on a nice day. Being in the heart of the city so much, surrounded by concrete and high-rise buildings, one forgets that Nanjing actually has lush greenery all around it. In fact, Nanjing is known for being one of the more green cities in China. In this regard, ‘green’ means having trees, bushes, parks, and the like, not ‘green’ as in sustainable growth. It is true, though. Nanjing has large, sweeping, tree-lined streets that are a wonderful change from other cities; not to mention, it has a huge mountain, lake and park, a protected historical site, smack-dab in the center of the city. I’m getting off topic, though...Back to Ox-head!

Ox-head Mountain was filled with little white structures that were built in the style of ancient Chinese architecture, with eaved roofs and fine, blue detailing. The buildings held restaurants and shops and the entire area had a walkway that weaved in an out of the many small ponds surrounding the site. We stayed for the entire afternoon, eating traditional food and playing card games with my Chinese friend’s family and cousins. It was a great day trip and should be planned for a nice, sunny day.

The second place I’d like to talk about is the Tangshan Hot Springs. It is located in eastern Nanjing, quite a bit away but the city is building a subway line right to its door! (Hopefully, that will be done before I graduate). Three friends and I spent an entire day at this modestly priced resort that boasts no fewer than 50 hot spring pools. It was very, very relaxing, despite the fact that we were the only international people in the place and stared at quite a bit. We ended up spending much of the day in the mud-bath part of the resort, which isn’t included in the regular price of the resort but very affordable. Afterward, we all took showers and headed back to the Center. We were all so exhausted from being in the pools all day and felt extremely tingly (hot springs have magical powers, perhaps). Either way, it was a pretty awesome day to have with a couple friends and a nice respite from the Center, all for less than 200 yuan."


*does not relate to anyone in particular, I swear.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Hassenfeld Social Enterprise Fund Competition

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Nanjing Connect, the creation of the inaugural winning team of the Hassenfeld Social Enterprise Fund Competition. Nanjing Connect is a website featuring regular bilingual articles in both Chinese and English focused on issues faced by Sino-global small- and medium-sized enterprises doing business in China. The project team comprised a total of seven students from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, including four international students and three Chinese students. Their work embodies the deep cross-cultural collaboration unique to the Center, and it represents the innovative ways the Center and its community, with the generous support of the Hassenfeld Family Foundation, continue to bring knowledge to the world.

We hope you will explore Nanjing Connect here and provide comments to the team here as they continue to enhance it.


About the Hassenfeld Social Enterprise Fund Competition
The Hassenfeld Family Foundation funded the Hassenfeld Social Enterprise Fund Competition in 2011 with a portion of its $2.2 million gift to The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The Competition’s objective is to stimulate student development and implementation of innovative projects with concrete deliverables that address social needs or problems. Each year, teams of four to six students submit project proposals aiming to satisfy specific criteria such as creating working, impactful partnerships among Chinese and international students at the Center; finding an environmental, social, and/or intercultural need that Center students are uniquely positioned to address; and developing a scalable product. The winning team receives prize funding, with which they make their proposal a reality. In the process, they wrestle with real-world business problems and build a set of skills and a tangible creation that will continue to serve them and grow long after they leave the Center.