Ian H.
Class of 2015
Ask Ian a Question!Read my blog: Class of 2015 Freshman Blog—Ian H.
Hometown: Milan, Italy
Major: Matierials Science & Engineering, Chemistry
Minor: Possible minor in Entrepreneurship and Management
Current residence: AMR II, Adams House
Campus involvement: SAAB, Badminton Club, JHU Model UN, Engineers without Borders, Blue Key Society, HERO, American Red Cross Disaster Response
Why I chose Johns Hopkins: Coming from a very diverse international school overseas, I wanted a university that could offer me the same sense of multiculturalism, tolerance, and friendliness I found at home. Johns Hopkins also has incredible opportunities for research that are just not found for undergraduates elsewhere. Lastly, the quality of the education at Hopkins is excellent and people worldwide recognize the name "Johns Hopkins" (unfortunately sometimes as 'John Hopkins').
Favorite class: Anthropology of Media—it's a fascinating and small class taught by Dr. Anand Pandian that explores the ever-changing role of media in our lives and how mediation has affected our development of the 21st century. Ranging from topics such as social networks (Facebook and Twitter) to medicine, photography, and contemporary painting, this course offers everyone the opportunity to contribute their different points of view and conduct an independent research project that will actually be published.
My favorite character from a movie/book/television series: Dexter from the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory. Dexter was one of the only cartoons that featured an intelligent main character and praised him for that, not like many other shows where we giggle because of a character's stupidity.
Favorite place in Baltimore: The Book Thing. It's a bookstore a few blocks from campus that gives away free books. Literally, all of their books are free. People donate hundreds of thousands of books to them every year and on weekends you can go there and take as many books as you want. Some of my friends even found some required readings for their classes there and saved almost $100!
What I want to do with my major: Despite what you'd think based upon my majors, I am not pre-med. I would really like to do research, or possibly start my own business. I'm keeping all of my options open so I can do whatever seems right for me!
Coolest (spring/summe/winter) break experience: The summer after my junior year of high school I went to a three-week student-led volunteer trip to Ghana, Africa. We worked and lived in a rural village, immersing ourselves in the Ghanaian culture, cooking and traditions. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and to this day I still am in touch with some of the villagers.
Three unusual things about myself:
- I speak three languages.
- I was less than half a mile away from the bomb that went off in Marrakech, Morocco, this April.
- I have a picture of me laying next to a smiling pig.
