Hopkins-Nanjing Center Blog

When I first lived abroad as a student in China five years ago, the thrill of novel sensory phenomena combined with the creation of new personal rituals left an impression that is difficult to replicate. Before enrolling at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in Fall 2022, I lived and worked in Shanghai a total of four years. While I had become comfortable with my life in Shanghai over time, some of my most lasting memories of the city were from the first few months living there. As many times in the years since as I foolishly weaved my shared bike between vehicles while in the seas of organized chaos that are Shanghai’s downtown streets, my early roadside adventures in Hongkou District（虹口区）half a decade ago will always remain among the most memorable. Indeed, moving oneself to an entirely new country, particularly when as far off as a separate continent in the opposite hemisphere, is an experience of enormous scope. Surely many of those reading this article have already enjoyed a stint of stud...

Juliette Devillard, Certificate ’17, is the founder of London Climate Connection. Juliette looks back on her time in Nanjing to discuss the valuable connections she made, from friends to faculty, as well as how certain experiences at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center have informed her work and professional interactions today.  While reflecting on her time at the HNC, Juliette emphasized the value of living in China, the challenge of learning the language and the host of interesting things that occurred on a day-to-day basis. These experiences were influential in terms of enhancing her confidence, learning how to navigate unknown situations, and interacting with people from different backgrounds. Juliette spoke fondly of the class she took with Professor Hua Tao, and the invaluable friends she made at the HNC. She was fascinated by Professor Hua Tao’s teaching style, and really enjoyed how nuanced the understandings of the content he taught were, making her feel like she always learned mor...