Orientation Week at the HNC

WELCOME everyone back to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for the 2017-2018 academic year! My name is Emily Rivera, a first year HNC Certificate student. A little over two weeks ago, 180 HNC students from around the world – including China, the U.S., the U.K., South Korea, Ghana, Canada, Mexico, India, Myanmar, Turkey, Argentina, Spain, and Venezuela, to name a few – arrived in Nanjing, China to begin the new school year at the HNC. Of these students, many second year students returned for their second year at the HNC, to complete their final year of the very unique  MAIS program. This two-year program is the only master’s degree fully accredited in both China and the United States.

 Classes are already underway, but before we get ahead of ourselves, let me start with our very first week here at the HNC – orientation week.

As students began to arrive at the HNC, carrying their luggage, purses and 包子’s in hand, orientation week kicked off to a start with on-campus tours to allow students to familiarize themselves with the HNC, Nanjing University’s campus, and the surrounding area. During the tour, we had a chance to meet other students and thus, the language and cultural exchange began. WeChat IDs were quickly exchanged and lunch plans to the nearest dumpling restaurant were made.

Although students were still recovering from jet lag, the excitement of finally arriving at the HNC, settling into our rooms, and meeting our roommates, kept everyone energized and a flow of excitement remained throughout orientation week.

The week was filled with useful presentations to introduce students to the Chinese and American Co-Directors of the HNC, the HNC faculty, fellow students, on-campus facilities, Nanjing in general and much, much more!

Career Services Presentation by Robert Shields

Some of these events and speakers during orientation week included:

• Robbie Shields, the HNC’s Career Advisor, who spoke on career services, upcoming resume presentations, and employer visits to the HNC (see photo above);
• Faculty presentations – which included both the International faculty and the Chinese faculty – during which each Professor gave an overview of their courses;
• A representative from Nanjing University, who spoke to students on mental health resources available in Nanjing;
• A presentation by the Raffles Medical Clinic, a clinic available to international students that offers an array of services, ranging from health screenings to laboratory services;
• Professor Paul-Armstrong Taylor, Resident Professor of International Economics, who invited interested students to learn about volunteering opportunities, such as teaching English to migrant children in Nanjing.

HNC Co-Director Davies and Co-Director He give speeches during the Opening Ceremony

As I mentioned, classes have already started at the HNC and everyone is in the full swing of things – signing up for volunteer positions, forming and joining student groups, and still finding time to explore the beautiful city of Nanjing. Last weekend several students joined Co-Director Davies and other leaders of the HNC on a 26.2 mile walk around Nanjing (stay tuned for our upcoming blog on this!)

Thank you for reading our blog! To students at the HNC - welcome back, 加油 !

Written by Emily Rivera, HNC Certificate '18