Julie Farrell

B.A., summa cum laude, East Asian Studies (Chinese Language Concentration), New York University

Julie’s passion for China was sparked as a high school student. After nearly ten years of bouncing across the Pacific, Julie will join Dragons for the first time in Spring 2016.

Julie began studying Mandarin at age seventeen. Her obsession for Chinese language and linguistics continued well into college and beyond, amplified by language intensives at Middlebury College and in Xi’an, through the Critical Language Scholarship program. Julie has conducted formal research on everything from minute details of Chinese syntax to communities of Chinese immigrants in Italy. At NYU, sustained interests in horticulture, environmental protection, and labor rights eventually culminated in a thesis on sustainable agriculture in modern China. After graduating in 2012, Julie relocated to Sichuan province to live and work with farmers and organizers committed to examining and improving local food systems. She is currently working on an ongoing project to document and preserve traditional agrarian culture through interviews and short films.

In 2015, Julie received an Advanced Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from UCSC’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. While studying in California, Julie managed to stoke her passion for Chinese farming practices by translating and experimenting with accounts of traditional fungiculture techniques. Naturally, she enjoys touching soil, driving tractors, talking about fruits and vegetables, and—most importantly—eating them.