Hopkins-Nanjing Center Blog

Matt Geraci, HNC Certificate '16 + SAIS MA '17, is a Research Associate & Program Officer at the Institute for China-America Studies (ICAS) in Washington, DC. How did your experience at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center (HNC) and Johns Hopkins SAIS together prepare you for your position that you have now?     Before the HNC, I hadn't taken any coursework in energy and the environment and hadn’t really thought of a way to combine those ideas. The HNC is where I started to do that. Once I got to SAIS DC, I was able to take this interest to the next step through a practicum where you’re teamed up with four other students to work with either a company or a nonprofit. I was paired up with an environmental non-profit called Clean Water Action. They wanted us to produce a research report, organize a panel discussion, and help them get a huge background and understanding of the environmental impacts to underground sources of drinking water from an oil and gas recovery technique simi...

Meet our new student blogger for the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, Hannah Sorenson! Hannah (MAIS '22) will be joining veteran blogger, Brandy Darling (HNC Certificate '20 + SAIS MA '21), in sharing her experiences studying at the HNC throughout the academic year. Hello, all! My name is Hannah Sorenson, and I am a MAIS student at the HNC  concentrating in China Studies . Although presently located in my home state of Minnesota, I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to join my classmates and the rest of the HNC community in Nanjing. I graduated from St. Olaf College in 2019 with a BA in Political Science, Asian Studies, and Chinese.     While much of my life took place far from China, opportunities to study abroad in Shanghai, farm in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture, and conduct research with WWF-Hong Kong instilled in me a passion for interdisciplinary academic exploration and intentional learning communities. I first applied to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center as a college senior, eager t...

Student blogger, Brandy Darling (HNC Certificate '20 + SAIS MA '21) writes about her experience with joining a new club and attending an outside event with them. Her attendance led to an expanded network and enhanced her experience at SAIS. The transition from the HNC to SAIS DC paired with the challenges of a virtual environment led me to find new ways to interact with students at SAIS. The best method? Join clubs! There are a bunch to choose from: career clubs, regional clubs, social clubs, and more. The main club I am associated with is the Black Student Union (BSU) at SAIS DC. As a new club, I have attended amazing events hosted and cohosted by BSU, such as a webinar targeting mental health, featuring a calming meditation session. I also enjoy the newsletters sent by BSU, which feature news updates, upcoming events, and great career opportunities.   One event in particular left a lasting impression on me. With the help of SAIS and BSU, I attended The International Associ...