Updates from graduates of our MA degree program

I graduated from Penn State University in 2015 and started my graduate study at George Washington University in 2016. During the two years of study, I’ve focused on classical Chinese literatures, especially on classical Chinese poetry. I’ve also done some research and taken classes in Chinese linguistics, Chinese religions and Chinese drama and theatre. After I graduated from GW, I did further research in the fields I’ve been studied, planning to pursue a PhD in Chinese religions with a focus in Daoism.

I am Chinese Language and Culture MA 2021. While at my undergraduate school, Old Dominion University, I had been heavily involved in practicing my Mandarin both on and off-campus. During my time at GWU, I have had endless support from all the faculty and professors to finish my program and earn a fellowship from the Sigur Center to study abroad in Taiwan. Now that I have graduated, I envision working in a cross-cultural environment - ensuring connections between prospective businesses, organizations, and government departments.

Tianyu Fan

范天玉

I graduated from GWU with a MA of Chinese Language and Culture in 2019. Currently, I am a Ph.d candidate in the department of Creative Writing, Shanghai University. The knowledge related to East Asian culture that I acquired here has repeatedly become the theme of my creation, and at the same time, it has also continuously inspired my academic research. In the past two years, I have published several academic papers and creative works, and independently translated Desire to Write written by Graeme Harper. At the same time, I am the first translator of Chinese translation of The Cambridge Introduction to Creative Writing and Key Issues in Creative Writing. I also participated in the compilation of China's first set of creative writing textbooks for middle school students.

Xinyi Zhou

周欣轶

I graduated from George Washington University with a MA of Chinese Language and Culture in 2018. Before that, I also held a BA degree of Political Science at GWU. Currently, I am studying as a Graphic Design Graduate student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. I love illustrating, photography, and traveling. I also have a strong interest in East Asia history and culture, especially for traditional Chinese art and archeology. I changed my study focus from social science to design and art because I found myself have a constant interest in design; as becoming a designer is the ultimate role that I want to be for my career. However, changing the career path does not mean that I lost my interests and connections with my previous studies in politics and East Asian Culture. The connection between art, culture and social matters is interesting, and I want to use design as a medium to decrease the cultural gaps between people in different backgrounds, as well as solving the social matters caused by those cultural gaps. I will put my study emphasis on how to visually enhance the connections in the society globally.

邹媛媛

I studied at GWU from the year 2018 until 2020. My major academic interest is in gender, drama, and religion, especially the dynamic relationship among these three disciplines. After graduation, I have tried different teaching roles in a private company, a public charter school, as well as a public school. Now I am working as an immersion teacher at a public elementary school in Delaware.

Xiayu Liu

刘夏禹

I had studied in GWU from 2018 to 2020, majoring in Chinese Language and Culture. I am interested in Chinese and Japanese literature and culture, especially in colonial Taiwan literature and Japanese modernization.

Mengke Zhou

Mengke Zhou graduated from our MA program in 2018. Currently she is working as an Academic English teacher and college counselor at the Barstow School Ningbo(aka Hanvos Kent School) in China. It is a K-12 international school jointly run by Zhenhai Middle School in Ningbo and Barstow School in the USA. Mengke is in charge of AE courses in the aspects of listening and speaking for grade 9 to 11. At the same time, she is also part of the college counselor team, which helps students with the process of college application. In her spare time, Mengke is learning to play the Qin (a traditional Chinese musical instrument, as shown in the second picture below). You can find her playing the Qin on YouTube here and here. (Mengke wearing a traditional Chinese robe, pictured on left, and playing the Qin, on right)