Name: Shayna F.
Hometown: New Taipei City, Taiwan
Anticipated Major(s) and minor(s): History of Art
How did you discover Hopkins? Courses offered by the humanities departments that involve power distributions among classes, races, genders, and sexualities as well as cultural representations and identities of different peoples, particularly interested me due to my multicultural background.
Is there a quote or motto that inspires you? What is it and what does it mean to you? This is a quote from a Chinese wuxia movie directed by Zhang Yimou called Shadow:「世界上很多事情，本無對錯，做了就不要後悔」Roughly translated, it says that “There are many things in the world that have no right or wrong, might as well not regret it once you do it.”
What are you most excited to do in Baltimore? I’m super excited about exploring the city with new friends! I definitely want to check out all the museums on campus and around the city!
What do you hope to get involved in on campus? I want to try to continue pursuing music, tutoring children, or joining social activism groups.
How has your family background or life experiences shaped you? My mother is Taiwanese and my father is American, I grew up living in Beijing for eight years and have moved back to living in Taiwan since I was eight! Living here has facilitated my interests in traditional Chinese music as well as history. I’m also fully fluent in both Mandarin Chinese and English!
What book, album/song, or TV show has had a profound influence on your life? One of my favorite book series is Onmyoji by Bake Yumemakura, but I also love Things Fall Apart, The Great Gatsby, Hemingway’s books in general, and Purple Hibiscus! I’m also an avid fan of the horror genre and love watching horror movies with my friends!
What are you most excited for about coming to Hopkins? At the college application stage, I would say that Hopkins opens up to many great educational opportunities and a spectacular campus. But after getting in and getting to meet so many friendly and amazing people already, making new friends is definitely at the top of my list for what I’m most excited about so far!
What is the accomplishment you’re most proud of? (big or small!) I’m super proud of my friends and I for starting a tutoring and fundraising group called Bees Without Wings! We currently have each been teaching a kid from a Malaysian orphanage twice a week after school through Zoom and it’s been a very amazing experience getting to know them and becoming their mentors and friends. Also, this is not a specific accomplishment, but learning the pipa and sanxian, and then joining my school’s Chinese orchestra and participating in competitions was definitely a super cool experience.
If you could get ice cream with one person (real or imaginary; dead or alive), who would it be and what kind of ice cream would you get? I love all of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s short stories, but “In A Grove” has always been in my mind since I can’t figure out who on earth the actual killer was. I would definitely grab a chocolate ice cream with him first and chat about some fun stuff but, after that, I just want to interrogate him and ask him who the killer was!! >:(
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? (dream big!) I honestly have no idea, but perhaps something along the lines of academia, law-related, or museum work!!
