从宁波诺丁汉大学到剑桥大学犯罪学博士 | 彭诗涵：唯有热爱，向上走才不孤单

来源：宁波诺丁汉大学

Please scroll down for the English version-UNNC graduate pursuing dreams at Cambridge.

对宁波诺丁汉大学国际事务与国际关系学系2022届的毕业生彭诗涵来说，今年是圆梦的一年。如今正在剑桥大学法学院攻读犯罪学硕士学位的她，今年年初刚被梦想中的剑桥大学犯罪学博士项目录取。从国际学到犯罪学，从宁诺到剑桥乃至世界，她一直知道自己想要的是什么，并一步步实现目标。

UNNC

学子

故事

唯有热爱，向上走才不孤单

彭诗涵

国际事务与国际关系学专业

01

无需设限，热爱自有归处

彭诗涵直言，在国际事务与国际关系学系学习的经历是“阴差阳错地得偿所愿”。她从小就对犯罪学、越轨行为以及病态心理学方面的知识颇感兴趣。在进入宁诺学习国际事务与国际关系以后，她发现这个专业涉及广泛多样的学科领域，尤其是其对于社会建构、惩罚和规训的讨论与法学一脉相承。“国际事务与国际关系学系通过教给我们一系列社哲理论，帮助我们建构自己的思维体系，跳出立场和视角的限制，看清事件表面之下真正的逻辑。”

Shihan Peng

为了向梦想靠近，彭诗涵一边在宁诺国际事务与国际关系学系学习社会科学的基础哲学，一边进行法律方面的知识补充。她自学了英国普通法（common law）、美国刑法和合同法，准备美国法学院入学考试（LSAT），去法院实习，还向学校里教授法律课程的老师自荐，最终成为了他的科研助理——这一做就是三年。

就在彭诗涵在追梦法学的路上走得有条不紊时，在哥本哈根大学的交换学习经历使道路出现了一个转折点。因为想学法律相关的内容，但是哥本哈根校方规定只有法律本科的学生才能选修法学院的课程，于是她给教务处发了封邮件，阐述想去法学院学习的动机并罗列了自己的法学背景，最后使对方破例为她开放了一门法学院的硕士课程——犯罪学。“也就是在这门课的第二节或第三节课上，走神的那一瞬间在想，啊，这就是我想要做一辈子的领域。”彭诗涵回忆道，“于是整个职业方向都改变了，我直接取消了预约好的LSAT考试，转而开始补充犯罪学方面的背景。”如今，她成功进入剑桥学习自己最心仪的学科，并将在这条路上一直走下去。

02

从宁诺到剑桥，在磨练中成长

在剑桥学习的半年多里，彭诗涵不断地有着新的体验和感受。同学们来自近三十个国家和地区，本科的专业背景也各不相同，常常在上课时提出一些相当新奇的角度。比如，针对儿童的人格发展这个话题，来自经济学、社会学、神经科学和法律背景的同学会产出完全不同的观点。“大家不仅都有独特的观点，还非常喜欢在课上举手分享自己的观点、与教授和同学辩论，始终保持一种摄入和输出相辅相成的状态。”

作为一名宁诺的学生，彭诗涵本科期间在课堂中所受的“磨练”，让她在聚集了全球顶尖人才的剑桥课堂上也表现得毫不逊色。如同她先前提到的，剑桥的课堂强调学生的观点表达。“有一门课的老师每节课都至少点一次我的名字让我回答问题，如果因为思维和表达能力的限制陷入沉默的话就会有点尴尬。但国际事务与国际关系学系涵盖的极为广泛的知识领域、针对不同话题的逻辑框架，使我面对任何问题都能够迅速理清思路、组织语言并提供观点。”

此外，宁诺课堂还非常注重公开演讲技能的训练。她仍记得近代史助理教授Joseph Askew博士的一门课程要求学生每周进行一次公开演讲。她说当时真的挺痛苦的，但是在不断重复中获得的有备演讲和即席演讲能力让她在剑桥应对七八十位听众的论文答辩中毫无压力、甚至游刃有余。“同班有些同学以前从来没有进行过任何公开演讲，因此非常紧张，但我们在宁诺已经习惯了这样的考核形式。”她感慨道。

03

永远在路上

问及选择读博、继续深造的原因，彭诗涵坦言是出于多方面的考量，但最重要的一点是她实在很喜欢犯罪学研究，愿意将其当作毕生事业。其实早在2021年，在宁诺荣获实习金像奖时，她就已经表达了自己想终生做犯罪学研究的愿景。

借由学校的实习项目和平台，我尝试过很多不同领域的实习工作，然而每次做了一段时间之后都会在不同程度上感到无聊，”她坦率道，“但学术研究是创新性的自我表达，始终有新的样本、新的选题、新的领域等待我去探索。”

除了学习之外，彭诗涵在剑桥还加入了各种社团组织并且参加诸多课外活动。在宁诺时，她曾在乐队当过贝斯手，在民舞队排练参加演出，也在空手道社、英辩社和摄影协会学习各种技能。让她至今记忆犹新的一个活动经历还是2019年暑假去甘肃定西支教。“参加了也算有四五年公益活动，但甘肃支教还是让我印象最深刻的，”她一边回忆一边笑道，“我们住的地方没有卫生间，得穿过马路去用学校里的；每个星期只能洗一次头，还需要坐两个小时的车去山下洗。人在衣食丰沛的生活中浸淫久了，就会忘记还有很多地方、很多人都还处于极端贫困匮乏的境况里。”她表示，人还是要经常出去走走，多认识不同的人，看看认知以外的世界是什么样子。

最后，当被问及对学弟学妹的建议时，彭诗涵说：“祝愿大家都能找到自己热爱的方向，因为那时向上走才不孤单。”

UNNC graduate pursuing dreams at Cambridge

For Shihan Peng, a 2022 graduate of International Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), 2023 has been a year of fulfilling her dreams. Shihan is currently pursuing a master's degree in Criminology at the University of Cambridge, and in addition, she has just been accepted to a PhD programme in Criminology at the same university—which fulfills her largest academic aspiration to date.

Since childhood, Shihan has been interested in crime, abnormal behavior and psychology in this area. She wanted to study law in university and eventually move on to specialise in criminology. Though International Studies itself is not directly associated with a law degree, the content on society, politics, legal mechanisms and so on, share common ground with studying law. While studying the basic philosophies of international studies in the classroom, she supplemented her knowledge by becoming a university research assistant for three years.

As Shihan gradually moved closer towards her goal of attending law school, an exchange experience at the University of Copenhagen brought about an important turning point. By this point she was ready to study a law-related subject, however, the University of Copenhagen stipulated that only law undergraduates were eligible for law school courses. Undeterred, she contacted the Office of Academic Affairs and was granted an exception to attend a master's course at the Copenhagen Law School in criminology. "It was in that course that I figured, ah, this is the field I would like to pursue for the rest of my life," Shihan recalled. "So I switched my entire career direction and started focusing on criminology." After this realisation, Cambridge was her next move.

During her time at Cambridge, Shihan has benefited from the skills and capabilities she learned at UNNC. "The lecturer in one course would call on me to answer questions daily, which could be a little bit stressful if I wasn’t prepared. However, my UNNC education covered a broad spectrum, so I could generally share meaningful input on most topics by leaning on past classes in Ningbo."

Furthermore, UNNC attaches great importance to the training of public speaking and communication skills. Shihan can still recall a course in which Dr Joseph Askew, Assistant Professor of Modern History, requested that students give a public lecture on a weekly basis. She described it as excruciating, however, it was the speaking skills she gained through repeated presentations that allowed her to defend her thesis at Cambridge in front of nearly 80 people.

Outside of the Cambridge classroom, Shihan also joined various societies and participated in many extra-curricular activities, much like she did at UNNC. At UNNC, she played bass in a band, was on the folk dance team, and learned various skills in the Karate Club, English Debate Club, and the Photographic Society. An event that remains fresh in her mind is her 2019 summer teaching trip to Dingxi, Gansu Province. "When one is used to an abundance of food and clothing, they can forget that there are still many places and people in extreme poverty." She expressed it’s important to regularly go and see what the world is like outside of your comfort zone.

When asked about her advice for younger students, Shihan said, "I hope everyone can find the direction they are passionate about, as it is only then that they are not alone when forging ahead."

图文来源 | 龚雪迎、彭诗涵