Working the Beijing Olympics: Jack Sheppard

Jack moved from Manchester to Wellington when he was five years old. He tells of a high school club formed around a common interest in Chinese martial arts. “I became interested in Asia through Chinese kung-fu movies - like Jet Li movies,” says Jack.

Jack trialled Chinese Mandarin in his first year at university, loved it, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts and Chinese from Victoria University. Upon graduation he was the recipient of an Asia:NZ China Scholarship which funded two years of Mandarin studies at Nanjing University. After a year in Incheon, South Korea, he returned to Victoria to complete Honours in Chinese, researching Zhou Zuoren and translation.

Jack joined the Young Leaders Network at its inception in 2006 and attended the inaugural Young Leaders Forum. “It's wonderful! It's almost limitless inspiration. I go to just one of the meetings and come away with lots of ideas”, he says of cluster meetings in Wellington.

One of Jack's highlights for 2008 was a half-year contract with the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing. Granted government clearance, he was responsible for research, response and Olympic Games liaison on behalf of the Embassy. The job had its perks. Jack was able to watch a number of events at the Olympic Games, including seeing the Evers-Swindell twins receive gold in rowing, and watching China face off against the Dream Team in basketball.

Since 2006 Jack has worked as a freelance translator for the New Zealand Translation Centre.

In his spare time Jack may be found playing bass guitar, jogging or reading comics. He's interested in language, Korean film, and cricket.