“This summer experience has been life-changing and has given me valuable insights into scientific research, immersed me in Chinese culture, and allowed me to meet people I hope will be lifelong friends. “
Abigail Hudson, 2026 Research Assistantship Program Participant
October 7, 2026
This summer, I was fortunate to have been selected as one of three interns for the Research Assistantship Program in Shanghai. This position allowed me to fulfill my lifelong dream of traveling to China while also enabling me to contribute to meaningful and interesting research. In Shanghai, I felt as though I was living the authentic life of a Chinese student—I worked, commuted by bicycle, visited exciting places with my labmates, conducted my own independent experiment, and immersed myself in daily life quite different from my norm. The program was designed to be conducted in English, but when my labmates realized I was fairly proficient in Mandarin, we spoke almost exclusively in their native language to fully immerse me in the overseas experience. The four weeks I spent in China improved my language abilities rapidly, and my new friends and I continuously taught each other things about our respective languages that classroom students might not learn, such as slang, popular phrases, or colloquial ways to respond to ‘thank you.’
Though I spent most of my time working, I still had opportunities to explore the area. My lab partner brought me all around my host university, from the various research facilities to the gift shop, famous monuments, and libraries on campus. My science experiment entailed using various instruments and pieces of equipment to analyze water samples, observe and count algae particles, and create visuals and documentation of my findings. To obtain the seawater, my labmates took me to a coastal countryside region to collect samples from the East China Sea, and our outing turned into a full day of sightseeing, tasting street food, and watching crabs skitter across the mud flats.
One of my favorite aspects of my summer experience was being able to try so many different foods. When it was time for lunch, we never ate the same thing twice—they brought me to every dining hall on campus and to all sorts of restaurants to try various cuisines, like a Chinese barbecue spot, a delicious hotpot, and all sorts of milk tea bars. We also often did something fun after dinner, whether it was teaching me to play mahjong, visiting my partner’s house to visit with her cats, checking out a local hamburger festival, or walking around the famous Wujiaochang Mall.
While our program was based in Shanghai, the three interns were also honored to have been invited to spend a weekend in Hangzhou. This gave us a chance to see another wonderful city and experience all sorts of unique events, from touring beautiful nature parks to making the most of what urban society has to offer. One of my favorite memories from the trip was going to an interactive horror escape room and screaming, laughing, and evading ghosts together.
This summer experience has been life-changing and has given me valuable insights into scientific research, immersed me in Chinese culture, and allowed me to meet people I hope will be lifelong friends.
To learn more about the Harvard China Fund Research Assistantship Program, click here.