All of us who work for the
Hopkins-Nanjing Center feel passionate about the mission of the HNC and the
importance of the skills our students learn.
However you may not know that five of the eleven American staff members
who work for the HNC in either Nanjing or Washington are actually alumni of the
Center, representing both the Certificate and MAIS programs and graduating
between 1988 and 2013. A number of the
Chinese faculty and staff are also alumni of the HNC. Katie Brooks (HNC ’09) is one such
graduate. Now in her role as Assistant
Director and Admissions Officer in the HNC Washington Support Office, she
reflects on the first time she heard about the Hopkins-Nanjing Center:
 |
Katie and a classmate at HNC's 25th Anniversary
|
I can still remember exactly
where I was sitting the first time I heard about the Hopkins-Nanjing
Center. It was 2004 and I was in my
freshman year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thanks to a few years of high school in
Singapore, I had placed out of the beginner level and was in second year
Chinese. While flipping through a list
of vocabulary words in preparation for a quiz that fateful day, a stranger
walked into our Chinese classroom. Zhou
Laoshi quieted us down and said we would be hearing about an opportunity to
further our Chinese after graduating from UNC.
The visitor briefly explained the history of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center,
outlined the program, and mentioned that HNC students were able to write
academic papers in Chinese.
My internal response? This lady is crazy!
I could not believe that my
Chinese would ever be at the level needed to attend the Hopkins-Nanjing
Center. I was just trying to get through
that day’s vocabulary quiz.
The brochure I received that
day was soon in the trash, but luckily thoughts of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center
lurked in the back of my mind over the next few years, even junior year when I
completely dropped my Chinese classes due to scheduling conflicts. Then during senior year, another stranger
walked into my Classical Chinese class.
It was a Hopkins-Nanjing Center presentation again, but this time I was
ready to hear it. Although still nervous
about my Chinese ability, I decided to apply and the rest is history.
I think the moral of the story
is to have confidence in your Chinese language skills, but at the same time
remember that nobody is truly prepared for the HNC. I went into it thinking that all my
classmates would have better Chinese than me and that taking graduate-level
courses in Chinese would be easy for them.
In reality, everyone is in the same boat trying to master the steep
learning curve that is the HNC. It took a lot of hard work but
we were able to do it, and so can you.
Now I’m that crazy lady who
walks into your Chinese classrooms and tells you about the Hopkins-Nanjing
Center. I’ll forgive you if you throw my
brochure away as a freshman or sophomore, but I hope all of the amazing
opportunities available at the HNC will continue to lurk in your mind as you
consider post-graduation plans.
