Student Life: The HNC Consulting Interest Group

Student blogger Amanda Bogan, MAIS ’18, joined the student-run consulting group at the HNC this semester. She shares her experience and talks with the group’s founder, JesusisLord Nwadiuko, about his motivations for starting the group.

I had been interested in consulting work since listening to a presentation about the field given at the HNC last year. Back then, although I was interested in learning more about the industry, I remember feeling intimidated as someone with no previous experience in consulting. I also knew that it would take a significant amount of practice and preparation if I were ever to seriously pursue a career in consulting services, or just to undergo a standard case interview. I was therefore particularly excited when I discovered earlier this semester that an HNC student was organizing an interest group for other students considering a career in consulting.

Since starting at the beginning of this semester, members of the Consulting Interest Group have gotten together every Monday morning to practice case problems together, review frameworks for structuring responses, and go over a variety of different cases and interview types. Since I started regularly practicing with other club members, I have become significantly more confident in my ability to problem-solve while maintaining composure and expressing my thought process logically and professionally.

Earlier this week, the group’s founding member and organizer, JesusisLord Nwadiuko, Certificate/SAIS MA ’19 took the time to talk to me a bit about his reasons for starting the group and what he has gotten out of it so far.

What inspired you to get students together to form a consulting group?
My motivations were partially self-interested, because I wanted to practice cases and prepare myself for future interviews, but I also wanted to create a platform at the Center where students could pursue professional development specifically in the context of consulting work. Also, it can be very difficult to prepare for case-style interviews alone without someone else to work with, so I knew that this would need to be more of a group effort. At the same time, I wanted to do something that would help other students be better prepared for interviews in the future, and to have a better understanding about consulting in general.

What were some of your primary objectives when starting the club? What are some areas you’d still like to improve upon?
One important goal for me initially was to allow for both Chinese and international students to improve on their relevant skill sets and expand their understanding of the consulting industry. In the future, I would like to do even more to accomplish this, such as working to get a better understanding of how consulting works differently in China than it does in the U.S., and also increase the amount of Chinese we use by practicing case questions and interviews in Chinese.

Are there any specific skills you feel you’ve improved on while practicing with classmates?
I’ve found that oftentimes when explaining your analysis to a partner, it doesn’t always come out as coherent as you would like it to sound, and it can be hard to communicate more complex thought structures efficiently to other people. I’ve definitely improved on this by practicing every Monday morning. For example, even when I give a case to my partner and act as the interviewer, just listening to someone else work through their own analysis can help you to refine your own take on a problem.

Lastly, the classic interview question: why are you interested in consulting?
My interest in consulting is actually a fairly recently development; for me, consulting represents a kind of coalescing of my different professional and personal goals. Specifically, I would like build on my leadership qualities and my ability to develop strategic insight at a global level. I think that the skills that come from consulting, such as being able to address and analyze a variety of different scenarios and develop sound strategies, would be highly transferrable to many different professional pathways that I am interested in pursuing.

Thank you again to JesusisLord for taking the time to talk with me and for all your efforts in organizing the club!

Written by Amanda Bogan, MAIS ‘18

HNC Spring Break

A few weeks ago, HNC students took advantage of the spring break to finish their Master’s theses, travel around China, and explore new countries! Alexandra Hansen, Certificate '18, shares photos from the HNC community documenting their adventures. 

Sierra Janik (Certificate/SAIS MA), Hong Kong 

A View From the Peak!

 杨乐 (Certificate), Wuxi, Jiangsu, China

 领略中国书法文化——抄写佛经.

赛志伟 (Certificate), Hualian, Taiwan

Flying to the Pacific! 

JesusisLord Nwadiuko, (Certificate/SAIS MA), Tumen in the Yanbian Korean-Chinese Autonomous Region, China

Visiting the border of China and North Korea to learn about 朝鲜族 education and the economy in the region. 

Taylore Roth (Certificate/SAIS MA), Ruili, Yunnan, China

Two Burmese traders returning home after a long day of work in the Chinese border town of Ruili.

Guillermo Garcia (Certificate/SAIS MA), Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan, China 

Trying to smile and enjoy the landscape after a tough hike. 

Ian Echo Faulkner (Certificate), Neiwan, Taiwan

A hidden town in the mountains, views from different coffee shops.

Alexandra Wasik (MAIS), Karakul Lake, Xinjiang, China

This is at Karakul Lake near the border of Tajikistan. They have horses and camels that you can take around the lake and up into the mountains.

俞梦丹 (Certificate), Bangkok, Thailand  (黄葵 featured)

 泰囧

Final Thoughts on my HNC Certificate/Johns Hopkins SAIS MA Experience

With graduation just around the corner for students in DC, Anna Woods, HNC Certificate/Johns Hopkins SAIS MA ’18, reflects back on her experience studying in Nanjing and DC.  

As I write this post, the clock is ticking down on my graduate school experience. It’s hard to believe that I’m nearing graduation already and that two years of challenging, enriching study are behind me (and that I’m about to get a master’s degree on my resume!)

For my last piece on the blog, I thought it would be nice to reflect back on what I’ve learned and how I’ve grown along the way during my time at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and the Johns Hopkins SAIS campus in DC.

On rising to the occasion…
I’ve been astonished to observe how quickly I have been able to rise to the occasion when called for. This definitely applies to the steep learning curve that we always talk about regarding taking graduate level classes in Chinese at the HNC, but it is also super applicable to my classes in DC. It felt so intimidating to contribute and answer questions, especially at the beginning before I knew my professors and fellow classmates. However, within weeks at the HNC and at SAIS, I grew in confidence and could offer my reflections and opinions no matter how complex the topic. (It helped when I realized that the other people in the room weren’t expecting perfection, but rather just good preparation and some intellectual curiosity.)

On once in a lifetime opportunities…
I’m so appreciative of all the situations that I could never have imagined I’d be placed in, which were entirely thanks to my being a student of the HNC and SAIS. Meeting US Ambassador to China Max Baucus, going to the Barnett-Oksenberg Lecture with former US Defense Secretary William Perry and Major General Yao Yunzhu in Shanghai, interviewing amazing people and getting to hear their insights for the SAIS Observer and this very blog, visiting top Canadian policymakers on a SAIS study trip, and much more all come to mind. And due to all those challenging classes, I was prepared and poised when I did end up in those situations, since I had context and knowledge to draw on.

On critical thinking skills...
Something that surprised me about graduate school initially was the much increased complexity of the material: so much information to wade through and many different scholarly points of view to balance. As an undergraduate, it often falls on you to master the entirety of the content to then be tested on in the final exam – every detail should be retained and it is all equally valid. At the HNC and SAIS, the emphasis was so much more on critical thinking, and we were not required or even expected to remember every bit of information. Rather, it was all about forming an understanding of the overall concept. This did call for a pretty big change in approach and way of thinking about what I was learning. Now that I’m at the end of the experience, it’s clear how developed my critical thinking skills have become, even in my second language of Chinese!

On the people…
Finally, the most valuable aspect of my whole experience has to be of the kindness and willingness to help I have encountered throughout my whole experience, from early days communicating with the admissions team to meeting my sweet HNC roommate on my first day there, to the HNC’s dear career counselor Robbie Shields, who was helpful and supportive of all my career hopes and applications, to the wonderful alumni who met with me over the phone and in real life, to my professors at both institutions who have been sources of guidance, mentorship and encouragement, and to my classmates who I now count among my closest friends. It’s clear why the HNC and SAIS alumni are renowned for being an incredibly tight-knit network. All those positive, supportive interactions yield a strong desire to give back, be that through mentoring a current student, reaching within the network to publicize a great job opening, or eventually donating to either institution. I know that I’ll be a very proud alumna of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and Johns Hopkins SAIS and I will be sure to carry on the tradition of helping others throughout my career.




Written by Anna Woods, Certificate '17/Johns Hopkins SAIS MA '18

Student Life: The Xianlin Half-Marathon

Amanda Bogan, MAIS ’18, shares her experience participating in the Xianlin Half-Marathon held in Nanjing. She and a group of students represented the HNC and encouraged each other throughout the race. 

Last weekend a group of HNC students participated in the Xianlin Half-Marathon, a 21 kilometer run held in the scenic outskirts of Nanjing. The group was made up of 17 HNC students, both long-time running enthusiasts and first-time race participants alike. What’s more, all HNC participants enjoyed free registration for the race thanks to the organization efforts of the HNC’s own experienced marathon runner, the wonderful Anneliese Gegenheimer, HNC Certificate ‘18/SAIS MA ‘19.

Although I started running several years ago, this half-marathon was my first time participating in an official organized running event. As one of the less experienced runners in our group, I was particularly glad to be running my first real race with a group of my HNC classmates. Not only did I feel more motivated to get out and go running in the training weeks leading up to the big day, but when the day did arrive, there was a real sense of comradery that made it much easier to wake up at 6:00am on a Saturday and ride the subway for an hour to the site of the marathon.

Once we arrived at the location, after hydrating and snapping a few pre-race photos, we all lined up at our assigned positions and got ready to run. The Chinese national anthem was played over the speakers, and then the race began. I ran at a slow and steady pace for most of the race, and occasionally other HNC runners would pass me giving me a high-five or a thumbs up. Even other runners who I didn’t know would smile at me and call out “加油!” which helped to keep my spirits up.

Other HNC students who were not participating in the race still came out to cheer on the runners and take photos, while riding bikes alongside the course of the race. It was great to see familiar faces calling out our names along the sidelines and to have friends waiting for us at the finish line. When I finally did reach the finish line (at what I considered a respectable 2 hours 16 minutes) I crossed it together with another HNC classmate—it was the first time for both of us to run a race, and we were elated to have finished.

Although I’m not sure when I will have the chance to run my next official race, I definitely want to again sometime in the near future—either in China or back in the U.S. Until then I’ll have to content myself to runs around campus or out to Xuanwu Lake.

Congratulations again to everyone who participated in last week’s marathon and thanks to all the HNCer’s who came out to cheer us on!

Written by Amanda Bogan, MAIS ‘18
Photo by Mavis Hou

Faculty Spotlight: Professor Wu Xiaokang

Anna Woods, Certificate ’17, MA ’18, had an opportunity to speak with Professor Wu Xiaokang, who teaches international economics at the HNC. Professor Wu is currently a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington, DC. This interview was conducted in Chinese and is presented here in translation. 

Wu Xiaokang is a Nanjing University professor who teaches international economics courses at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. He has spent the 2017-18 academic year at Johns Hopkins SAIS as a Visiting Nanjing Scholar, which enabled him to sit in on classes and focus on his own research. He recently published an article titled “Neighbors, Information Spillover and Firms' Import” with fellow HNC professor Han Jian in the Journal of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. He was also my econometrics professor in the spring of 2017!

Do you have any comments on what it is like to teach at the HNC or the special nature of the institution?
The HNC is a bilingual institution. Different languages means different cultures. Through shared experiences, people end up understanding each other. I think we could do an analysis of this by surveying a group of Americans and Chinese [outside the HNC], and then surveying a group of HNC students, and comparing their views on the China-U.S. trade dispute. You would find that ordinary Chinese people would say yes, let’s get into a trade war with the U.S., let’s boycott their products. The impact on the U.S. is of no concern—that is their attitude towards the U.S. If you spoke with HNC students, however, both sides would support holding negotiations to solve the issue. I think that when students leave the HNC, they come out not just concerned with U.S. national interests or Chinese national interests. They care about what is good for China-U.S. relations. The biggest benefit of the HNC in my opinion is that it breaks down preconceived beliefs and ideology. I also really appreciate the fact that professors from different academic backgrounds all work there together. Usually in China different academic departments are all very independent from each other. This gives HNC students a superior advantage, as they can evaluate issues from multiple perspectives. This allows them to be more objective about an issue than if they are looking at it from the perspective of one academic discipline.

What opportunities have you been able to take advantage of while in residence in DC?
One of the most valuable things has actually been sitting in on economics classes at SAIS. Last semester, I attended an econometrics class and an international trade class, which have been valuable in seeing how the professors teach the material. I was a brand new economics professor when I began at the HNC, and the chance to attend Professor John Harrington’s econometrics class at SAIS, which he has been teaching for more than 20 years, is really valuable in seeing how he helps the students understand the concepts. Dr. Pravin Krishna, who taught the class on international trade, was also very impressive.

What research have you been working on here in DC?
I have been working on regional trade agreements (RTA). The first aspect I’m researching is the utilization rate. We want to see how trade increases after RTAs are established. If we look at the issue from a micro perspective, we see that firms will not necessarily use preferential trade policies because they involve costs, like the cost of certifying that their products were produced within a certain region.

This is especially complicated nowadays with the prevalence of global value chains. We run into the issue of an “information cemetery,” where the firm itself knows the amount of value added and what components are coming from abroad. However, the process of certifying it for government approval is arduous in terms of time and money. So, ultimately, the problem is such that the firm may qualify for the preferential tariff that lowers costs, but the process of qualifying for it also incurs costs. Then firms have to make a choice according to their cost benefit analysis. This research shows that, while countries tend to think about trade policy without understanding the micro decisions of individual firms, the question has to be whether these firms are going to actually use the preferential tariffs. The other aspect I research is what kinds of effects these RTAs bring about in terms of trade diversion versus trade creation.

Is this your first time living in the USA? How has it differed from your expectations?
It’s interesting, because growing up in China, we start learning English from a young age, compared with Western students who don’t start learning Chinese perhaps until college. To help with that, we watch American movies, listen to American music, and we feel like we know America, but in fact I think we actually have very little understanding of America. Moving here was very different from my expectations. Communicating and exchanging views in English was challenging for me at the beginning.

Interview by Anna Woods, HNC Certificate/Johns Hopkins SAIS MA ‘18

The HNC Annual Photo Contest

For the last two years, the HNC has held an annual photo contest. Students submit their best photos from studying at the HNC, living in Nanjing, traveling during school breaks, or visiting home. Winning photos are selected from the following categories: Best Travel Photo, Most Thought-Provoking, Most Beautiful, Most Creative, Most “HNC”, and Best Overall. Check out the winning photos from this year below! 

Best Photo, Stephanie Gruetze, Certificate '18

 新年龙 New Year’s Dragon in 江西 

 Best Photo, Edmund Xu, MAIS '18

雪天路滑，还是努力用功
Hard work on a snowy day

 Most “HNC”, Joy Joy Yang, Certificate '18

 Music knows no boundaries. Nathan Hsu and Daniel Burke filling the HNC courtyard with the sound of music.
音乐无界限。Nathan和Daniel的音乐溢满了中美中心的庭院。

 Most Beautiful, Hou Congrui, Certificate '18

“仲春梅花山下的爱情/ Love of Plum Blossom Hill in Mid-Spring”，摄于中美中心集体前往梅花山观景途中

Most Thought-Provoking , Shubham Karmakar, Certificate '18

Street Art? No. As we say rules are meant to be broken. The four Chinese characters are jointly requesting not to park any vehicle there. And the rest is shown.  A public wall can become a painting – big black ideograms that stain the yellow face of a building. And a public bicycle on it can turn into an (unconscious) act of rebellion.
街头艺术？ 不是。众所周知，规则是打算被打破的。 这四个汉字共同要求不要在那里停放任何车辆。并且，我们可以看到公共墙成为了一幅油画 - 大黑图，造成了建筑物的黄色表面上的斑斑。不过， 一辆公共自行车可能会变成一种无意识叛逆行为的代表。

Most Thought-Provoking, Caroline Yarber, MAIS '18 

Hiroshima A-Bomb Dome--73 years ago the first nuclear weapon used in war was detonated 600 meters above this building. With regional tensions at a high point, it's more important than ever to remember the catastrophic potential of nuclear war.
原爆圆顶馆。 73年前，第一枚核武器在该建筑物上方300米处引爆。 随着地区紧张局势的上升，记住核战争的灾难性潜力比以往任何时候都更加重要。

Best Travel Photo, Eli Tirk, MAIS '18

Taken from the halfway point to Roy's Peak near Wanaka. This was an excellent view of the bluest glacial lakes I have ever seen.
从中途点到瓦纳卡附近的罗伊峰，这是我见过的最蓝的冰川湖的

Most Creative, Joy Joy Yang, Certificate '18

Reading for 当代中国对外政策课 is important. But getting the HNC basketball jersey ready for the next game is just as important. Happy Laundry Hour!
预习当代中国对外政策的阅读是很重要的。但是为下一场比赛准备好中心的球衣也同样重要。洗衣时间快乐！