Eric LacourChinese Language Flagship Program, Indiana University Bloomington
Foreign Language Area Studies Scholarship (FLAS)
Master of Arts in International Studies ’20
Eric Lacour began his Chinese studies during his sophomore year at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB). As a double bass student of Professor Lawrence Hurst in the prestigious Jacobs School of Music, Eric initially enrolled in Chinese courses out of pure interest in the language and culture of China. What was at first a fascination quickly became a passion when he was asked to join IUB’s Chinese Flagship Program. After one domestic summer of Chinese immersion study at the Flagship Chinese Institute (FCI) and one summer at Princeton in Beijing with FLAS funding, Eric was accepted to participate in the Flagship capstone year abroad program in Nanjing after completing his music studies.
While studying at the Flagship Nanjing University Center, Eric was able to combine his professional music training with his passion for China through participating in performances and teaching members of the Nanjing University Symphony Orchestra. During the internship phase of the Flagship capstone year abroad, Eric was able to earn a full-time position in the Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra as a double bassist. After one year of performing in cities all over China from Shanghai to Xining, he was promoted to principal double bass and chosen as an inductee into the Jiangsu Central Committee’s 100 Young Talented Artist program. As principal bass, Eric has participated in performances representing Jiangsu province in the greater China area, Europe, and Japan, including symphonic concerts, operas, Chinese folk collaborations, and musicals. As of February 2017, he has also served as visiting associate professor of double bass at the Nanjing University of the Arts.
Having witnessed the interaction of Chinese government policy on the arts and culture production first-hand, Eric will use his time at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center to further understand Chinese politics and explore ways of better developing the arts within the context of the Chinese political system.
Amy BodnerCritical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program
Master of Arts in International Studies ’20
Amy Bodner first learned of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center when she visited Nanjing as a study abroad student and met a group of students by chance at a restaurant. One conversation about the “China Dream” later, Amy knew the Hopkins-Nanjing Center was an institution that aligned with her career goals. An aspiring Foreign Service Officer, Amy chose the Hopkins-Nanjing Center to study the Chinese perspective on Sino-American relations and to push her Chinese language ability from colloquial to professional. She is grateful to further explore Chinese policy, language, and culture as a U.S.-China Exchange scholar pursuing a Master of Arts in International Studies.
Amy hails from Reno, Nevada, and studied Chinese and Economics at the University of Puget Sound. Her adventure into Chinese language study began as a college sophomore when she labored over traditional characters in an intensive language program at Tunghai University in Taiwan. She continued on to study Chinese history in the home of the terracotta warriors, Xi’an, China, and later to study finance in China’s economic epicenter, Shanghai. While in Shanghai, Amy interned at the cloud computing company ChinaSoft International, where she struggled to understand corporate vocabulary, but learned that in China it is acceptable to nap on your desk after lunch.
Upon graduation, Amy furthered her Mandarin study by participating in the U.S. State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship in Dalian, China. Here she learned a bit about Chinese opinion on modernization and the secret to cooking flavorful tofu over chats with her host mom. During the following academic year, she taught English at the historic Hwa Nan Women’s College in Fuzhou as University of Puget Sound’s cultural ambassador. Currently, Amy is on a Fulbright grant in Taitung, Taiwan. She teaches English and International Studies at an aboriginal school with just 17 students where she has learned about Taiwan’s traditional aboriginal culture through experiences like singing Amis language folksongs and spear-hunting fish in the Pacific Ocean. Given its legacy, Amy believes the Hopkins-Nanjing Center will give her the educational experience necessary to apply her amalgam of experiences in China and Taiwan towards her future career.
Peace Corps
Master of Arts in International Studies ’19
Perspectives matter. Dominic’s time living, studying and working in developing countries taught him the importance of understanding other peoples’ perspectives. Having spent 15 years in developing countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and China, Dominic has had much experience working to connect and build relationships with people from cultural backgrounds different from his own. Understanding local and individual perspectives on a range of issues, and being able to communicate on his own in culturally appropriate ways, was necessary to build mutual trust and respect with friends and colleagues from diverse communities abroad. This goal for “building bridges” is what led Dominic to join the Peace Corps and later apply to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center.
As a university English teacher for two years in a region of China fairly different from Shanghai or Beijing, Dominic’s time in the Peace Corps offered the opportunity to connect with members of the community to learn about China from their perspective, and to offer his perspective on his own community in the U.S. Given differences in culture and values, this process was not always easy, though it did bring to light one aspect critical to cultural exchange, namely, language ability. Being able to have conversations in Chinese and read Chinese texts and news media was necessary to more deeply understand local perspectives and build relationships of mutual trust and respect. Dominic applied to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center because of its focus on target-language courses, rigorous academic standards, and a diverse student body and faculty.