Coming to Hopkins as an international student during the pandemic, I really had no idea what to expect. We were still under some pandemic restrictions, especially on the Homewood Campus, and I had barely met anyone who would also be attending Hopkins that fall.
Spicy stir-fried squid is one of my favorite Korean meals – it’s a good pairing with rice, simple and heartfelt. This recipe is from my maternal grandmother. This squid dish is one of the many Korean dishes she made for a number of reasons: My dad is a seafood lover, the dish is diverse in ingredients and nutrition, and it’s a perfect blend of spicy and filling. To be completely honest, it was difficult for me to get this list of albeit simple instructions, because it was the first time she had to put into words something that had always been second nature to her.
Sharing my own South Korean culture and seeing how it fits in to the puzzle of the world has been a constant undercurrent both in my life and at my time here at Hopkins, and so I wanted to share some of my favorite pieces of Korean media with all you dear readers of this edition of The News-Letter’s Magazine.
I began my journey at Hopkins less than two months ago, and I find it hard to fathom how many new and rewarding experiences I got to add to my memory in merely these few weeks. It is, quite frankly, an absolute and extraordinary pleasure to be here. Dear Baltimore and Hopkins, thank you so much for having me.
Being African in the mid-2010s earned me rude comments on my appearance, my food and my way of communication. I used to evade inquiries into what I wore to Nigerian parties out of fear that people would see pictures and deem my clothes ugly.
As a Brazilian-American Jew, being Jewish is something that has always transcended my nationalities. I am American, and I am Brazilian, but before either of these things, I am Jewish.
If you told freshman-year me that I would be the editor-in-chief of my college newspaper, I would've looked at you in disbelief and questioned if you were talking to the right person.
Indulge your passing curiosities. If you have always liked going to museums, take an art history class. If you are passionate about feminism, take a class on reproductive rights. If you have ever wanted to know what torture feels like, take a physics class. Maybe what you learn will be useful, maybe it will not, but you will have fun. And I promise that one photography class is not going to ruin your chances at medical school.
First off, welcome to the Nest! As a freshman, you’re probably not even sure what you want to pursue yet or you might simply be feeling overwhelmed by all the possibilities you can take with your life and career path. As someone who’s tried it all — Pre-Med, Economics, Consulting, Marketing, Filmmaking, Engineering and much more — I can safely say that acquiring a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the end goal that I intend to achieve.
It’s no secret that Hopkins is well-known to most for its STEM fields: How often have you heard Hopkins and the humanities discussed in the same conversation off-campus? And yet, back in 1966, preluding the height of literary theory which would explode in the 70s and 80s, Johns Hopkins University hosted prominent thinkers like Claude Lévi-Strauss, Jacques Derrida, Paul de Man, Roland Barthes and Jacques Lacan for an international symposium.
Making friends in college can be one of the most anxiety-inducing parts of freshman year. The importance of college friendships is often emphasized by parents, family members, social media and more. It can be somewhat daunting to think of how influential these connections will be on your college experience, but don’t let “finding your people" stress you out too much. Here are three things to keep in mind as you kick off your first semester.
When I first heard about the First Year Seminar (FYS) program, I was not very excited. I viewed it as a class that unnecessarily took up three credits in my schedule, which I wanted to fill with a course from my major. Such was the case before I had perused any of the options.
I had a pretty fixed routine as a freshman: class, lunch at Hopkins Cafe (then FFC), more class, dinner (also at FFC) and hanging out with my friends in McCoy. Although I credit this routine with helping me settle in at Hopkins, sticking to the same thing day in and day out could get mundane. From picnics on the quad to student plays to a bouldering cave, the Homewood Campus has so much to offer!
I remember the summer before college when I was still scoping out my future through "A College Day in My Life" videos. I followed a YouTuber’s advice to make a four-year course schedule ahead of time. I spent hours researching classes, making a (seemingly) seamless schedule and imagining my life was all set — which now seems like a bit of a pipe dream. I've been humbled by the difficulty of some classes and the evolution of my interests — I’ve changed majors three times!
While much of your time at Hopkins may be spent in classrooms and office hours, the city of Baltimore is an underrated facet of the Hopkins experience. Luckily, you’ll have four years to discover the charm of the city. I highly recommend breaking the “Hopkins Bubble” and leaving campus when you can to engage with the rest of the city. This is a guide to many of the neighborhoods across the city to jumpstart your adventure through Baltimore.
Students have a habit of joining Hopkins, becoming engrossed in on-campus activities, and not leaving — that is the Hopkins Bubble. We tend to lose sight of the fact that we live just 45 minutes away from our nation's capital, in a city rich with art and culture, and in a state filled with gorgeous parks and hidden gems.
Welcome to your first year at Johns Hopkins! As you probably already know — or else, will soon discover — this place has a bit of a reputation for being the “doctor school.” Whether this is true for you or whether you plan on studying something else, you may be interested in getting a fuller picture of Hopkins. While it can feel like the humanities occupy a much less visible corner of our school, in reality, it is just as colorful and vast as its science and engineering counterparts.
Hopkins was new and Hopkins was hard, but looking back, I emerged from my freshman year with a lot of success, and there’s no doubt that with some perseverance you will, too. This article is my very best attempt to transfer everything I learned to you so that you can learn from my mistakes and get off to a great start on your pre-med journey.
When you spend 17 years in a small town where most of your neighbors’ cars were from before you were born, the opportunity to go into the big, wide world seems like your golden ticket to a new future. In my final year of high school, where I graduated on a lopsided soccer field (since our school wasn’t big enough for a football team), I couldn’t wait to move to a new city — a real, busy, alive city. Even if I was going to be across the country from the rest of my family, something in me knew that I was where I was meant to be.
Change is rarely easy, and the college transition is an extreme case. As a freshman first stepping onto campus, it can take a lot to simply be present. While it’s easy to anticipate the academic challenge that college might bring, it is also easy to overlook how freshman year likely is the furthest you’ve been from all of the people and places you consider home. But, even in that tangle of nerves and excitement, small intentional practices can help ease your transition to college. Here are a few pointers for finding your footing in your first year at Hopkins.
