STARTING OUT: Jack Marzulli ’12

Princeton-in-Asia research fellow in the Beijing office of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Princeton major: Woodrow Wilson School, with a certificate in Chinese language and culture.

What he does: Marzulli conducts research and helps prepare policy recommendations and case studies as part of a team focusing on ways Chinese cities can increase green building and low-carbon development to improve sustainability. One project — a walkability index — will rank cities based on how ­conducive they are to walking as a primary mode of transportation. The job is a one-year fellowship ending in July.

Why he wanted the job: Marzulli wanted to see “what it’s actually like in real life to do policy advocacy and policy analysis, and craft policy proposals.”

Challenges: “Being a policy advocate who ­doesn’t directly have any policy-making power” can be frustrating, he says. Also, many long meetings are conducted in Mandarin: “It can be difficult for me to keep up and contribute ... because my Mandarin is far from fluent.”