HNC Certificate/SAIS MA student Tyler Makepeace has joined the HNC Office of International Admissions as a student worker. Along with two Nanjing-based students, over the next year he'll be providing a glimpse into the student experience at HNC on this blog. Read on to learn more about Tyler:
大家好！
My name is Tyler Makepeace, and I am a
2014 HNC Certificate graduate as well as a current SAIS MA student
double-concentrating in China Studies and International Finance. This year, I
am excited to be working with the HNC admissions office, and will be
participating in online chats with prospective students, as well as updating
the HNC blog with some helpful information about the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and
my own personal experiences at the Center.
My own interest in China began in the
summer of 2008, in the buildup to the Beijing Olympics. The STARTALK Program, a
government funded program that offers free month-long classes in critical
languages like Mandarin, had just set up a satellite at my high school; I
jumped at the opportunity to learn more about the country that was poised to
take the world stage in August. After STARTALK, I was eager to continue with my
Mandarin classes, but also to experience China first-hand. At Colgate
University I double-majored in International Relations and Chinese, and in the
summer of 2012 had the opportunity to intern with a Taipei-based tool
manufacturer. However, during my senior year at Colgate I felt that I did not
have the requisite experience in China to get the job of my choice.
I first found out about SAIS and the
Hopkins-Nanjing Center from Lauren Szymanski, an HNC admissions coordinator who
visited Colgate during my senior year. Like many prospective students, I found
the HNC’s program, which allowed me to continue my study of International Affairs,
while at the same time honing my Mandarin skills with native speakers in China,
to be something that no other graduate program could offer. In the end I
decided to apply for the HNC Certificate/SAIS Master’s program, which would
allow me to spend a year at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, and later to return to
Washington, DC to finish my MA at the SAIS DC campus.
While at the HNC I was able to deepen my
study of International Affairs with Mandarin classes like Contemporary Chinese
Foreign Policy and Chinese Rural Politics. However, I was also able to broaden
my studies with English electives like Cyberlaw, and even able to get a leg up
on my study of Finance in DC with a Corporate Finance class taught by the one
and only Paul Armstrong-Taylor (PAT). However, unlike many graduate programs,
classes at the HNC are only a portion of the academic experience. My roommate, a graduate student of
International Law from Xiamen University, helped me gain an interest in
International Law through our discussions on his experiences as part of the HNC
International Moot Court team, and also helped me solve some bad habits in my
speech and writing.
I also had the opportunity to get involved
in a number of extracurricular activities during my time in Nanjing. I, along
with Nicole Fritzy, revamped the Center’s coffee shop, and worked alongside
with an amazing team of International and Chinese students to deliver a much
needed caffeine boost to the student population. I was also involved with the
Student Alumni Activities Interest Group (SAAIG), which coordinated with Career
Services to help host alumni, along with designing HNC-themed apparel for
students. During my second semester at the Center I also signed up to be a part
of the HNC’s Dragon boat team, which represented the Center at the Dragon Boat
race held on Duanwujie.
Perhaps my greatest contribution to the
Center was my involvement in the Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s rock band, MENERGY,
as rhythm guitarist/vocalist. MENERGY was formed within the first month of school,
and we were able to practice in the Center’s own music room in order to rock
the campus (naming rights for MENERGY rightfully belong to our very own Career
Services director, Robbie Shields, who incidentally now owns most of our
copyrights). Throughout the academic year, MENERGY was a central part of all
the Center’s most popular events, including the Mid-Autumn Festival, the
Halloween Party, and the Spring BBQ. Kevin Bond, guitarist and 2nd
year MAIS student, will be scouting the incoming class for members of his new
band, The Band Formerly Known As MENERGY.
I look forward to talking with many of you
during this year’s online chats, and hope these blog posts give a sense of the
wide diversity of experiences available at the Center.
