We've already introduced readers to our new student bloggers Tyler and Emily. Last but not least is HNC MAIS student Thomas Holt. Read on to learn more about his background studying Chinese and why he decided to attend the Hopkins-Nanjing Center:
大家好！
Hey everyone, my name is Thomas Holt, and I’m a
first year MAIS student with a concentration in International Politics. 我的中文名字是侯天慕.
I graduated this year from Penn State
with a BA in Chinese and a minor in History. I’m thrilled to be working with the
HNC Washington Support Office, and I look forward to communicating with anyone
who has an interest in the HNC through online chats, along with documenting my
first year at the HNC through the blog here. I also invite anyone who has
questions about the HNC to email me at tholt5@jhu.edu!
My interest in China began shortly after I began my
freshmen year of undergrad. I had a vague desire to be fluent in a foreign
language by the time I graduated from undergrad, along with a desire to study
abroad. Being drawn to the idea of studying in a place so widely different from
the US like mainland China, and knowing that Chinese would be a very useful
language to learn, I signed up for a beginner Chinese class on a whim. While I
was already drawn to China, I did not expect to enjoy the language as much as I
did. By the end of my freshmen year, I had decided to major in Chinese and had
already decided to study abroad in Shanghai that summer.
I studied abroad at East China Normal University
during the summer of 2011 with the CIEE Accelerated Chinese Language program.
The program was very intense, with a year of Chinese studied over the course of
two months. While the program was very stressful, I’m grateful for how much
my Chinese improved during that time. I enjoyed myself so much in China, and made
such good Chinese friends, that when I boarded my flight back to the US I knew that
I wanted to return to China as soon as possible.
I got my chance to return to China again when I
received a PIRE grant that was provided by the National Science Foundation and
the Penn State Center for Language Science. During undergrad I was a research
assistant at the Brain, Language, and Computation Lab at Penn State, where I
conducted linguistics research on Chinese-English bilinguals and Chinese
language learners. The PIRE grant allowed me to conduct my own research project
on the ability of Chinese-language learners to acquire the lexical tones of
Chinese at Beijing Normal University. I spent two months at Beijing Normal
University conducting research and even though I wasn’t attending formal
language classes, my Chinese still improved.
While my Chinese had improved greatly as a result of
my study abroad experiences, by this point it was still only an intermediate
level. Realizing that I would never reach an advanced level of Chinese by
staying in the US, I decided to study abroad for the entirety of my senior
year. For the fall 2014 semester, I studied at the IES Abroad Beijing Center in
the Language Intensive program. During this program, I had five hours of
Chinese class per day and lived with a Chinese host family. I also took a
course on Modern Chinese History, which taught me how to look at Chinese
history and nationalism from the perspective of a Chinese, rather than as a 老外.
While I greatly enjoyed my time in Beijing, I also realized I needed to gain
greater knowledge in a specific area of Chinese international relations, which
is why I chose to study abroad in Kunming during the spring of 2014 with the
IES Kunming Regional Development in China and Southeast Asia program.
For my study abroad program in Kunming, in addition
to continuing my Chinese language study, I studied the history of Southeast
Asia and how China's rise is affecting regional stability, trade and the
environment of Southeast Asia. I also took a course on the history of ethnic
groups and nation-building in China and Southeast Asia. I also interned at the
China Kunming Opening-Asia Transportation Logistics Research Institute, where I
assisted in research on regional trade and transportation facilitation policy
between China, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Throughout the semester, I had the opportunity to meet with numerous
scholars and officials involved in the issues of economic development and
environmental protection throughout the region, ending with a two-week trip to
Vietnam and Cambodia where I saw first-hand how China's growing clout and
regional development has affected the economy and environment of these two
nations.
I first heard about the HNC during my junior year of
undergrad, when I attended an information session about the center. By this
point, I already had a desire to attend graduate school in China so that I
could become truly fluent in Chinese. However, the HNC at that point was just
one of many options I was considering. I didn’t firmly decide to apply for the
Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS) program until Angela Chang, the American
Academic Coordinator at the HNC, came to the IES Beijing center to recruit in the
fall of 2013. The idea of being able to take courses in a wide variety of
topics in Chinese, along with writing a thesis in Chinese, really appealed to
me because I knew that was what would enable me to finally become fluent in
Chinese. The center further appealed to me due to the wide range of academic
freedom it possessed in comparison to Chinese universities, along with the
prestige John Hopkin’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) carries
in the field of international relations. I became convinced that earning my
master’s at the HNC was what I wanted to do, and I would not have considered
any other graduate program. With that, I took the STAMP test in December, and
submitted my application in January. When I learned in March that I was accepted
into the MAIS program, I was elated and couldn’t wait to arrive at the HNC.
I’ve been in Nanjing for about a month, and so far I’m
really enjoying my time here. While I was initially nervous about all of my
classes being in Chinese, I’m pleased to say I’ve been able to adjust quickly.
It also helps that everyone here is in the same boat. I’ve already become
friends with several of my classmates, and it’s been great meeting so many
students here with fascinating backgrounds. I can confidently say I made the
right choice in coming to the HNC.
I look forward to blogging about my experience over
the coming year, and talking with any students who have questions about the
HNC!
再见！
Tom
