Every once in a while, one of the regular guests catches our eye. Xiaxun (Shia-shin) Ding is one of those people. Not because she was boisterous but rather because she was exactly the opposite. Ordering her cappuccino and taking it into the back room, next to the window and working towards her Masters in Literature from The Johns Hopkins University. I would go back to check on her every once in awhile.
A few months later, Xiaxun approached me to see if we would be interested in her contributing to our blog with articles about coffee. Since maintaining a blog can be quite a chore, we're more than happy to have her join our writing team - especially one with such a pedigree (she completed undergrad at the University of Southern California).
Hailing from the Zhejiang Province in southwestern China, Xiaxun has spent time working Shanghai where she worked to help young bakers learn French techniques to develop their careers, helped to develop sustainable and eco-friendly systems, did research in California on penal narratives and has tutored refugee children here in Baltimore. With a strong belief in ReUrbanism and local businesses, the recently graduated Ms. Ding is looking to develop a career in linguistics and book publishing.
You'll be seeing Xiaxun's first article, titled "Humans of the Coffee World" appearing on this site within a few days. And if you're a organization seeking someone to pen articles, give Xiaxun a shout.