Even though Emma Iannini has traveled all over the world and is currently living more than 7,000 miles away in China, she still calls Newtown her hometown. Right now she is halfway through a six-month journey that has her teaching English and French at a public middle school in Shanghai.

Growing up in a post 9/11 world, 22-year-old Ms Iannini says that she became increasingly interested in international affairs the more she learned about different cultures and politics outside her realm of Newtown.

She developed a knack for languages at an early age, having been introduced to French culture at Fraser Woods Montessori School, and later crafted her fluency in the language while living in France. In high school at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Ms Iannini decided to take on learning Chinese, too.

She continued to study Chinese while attending Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service for international relations. During her time there, she became very active advocating for local and national gun violence prevention initiatives, as well as working on campaigns for Senator Chris Murphy and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Upon graduating in May 2016, Ms Iannini sought to use her myriad of skills to teach students in China, and through her roots in Newtown was able to obtain a job in Shanghai.

"Former assistant principal at Newtown High School, Jason Hiruo, helped me acquire my position. Jason and I became very close friends through our gun violence prevention activism work in the wake of 12/14, and he knew about my interest in teaching in China and decided to help me," Ms Iannini explained. "He is a wonderful man, and I'm so grateful to him for providing me with this opportunity."

Ms Iannini arrived in China mid-February and began teaching American culture and history and French culture and history to 11-to-13-year-old students at Shanghai Jincai International Middle School.

"I typically teach four to five classes everyday, of about 40 students each, for 40-minute periods. I have 12 classes at my public school, so [that is] over 400 students total," Ms Iannini said. "As a foreigner, I don't understand Chinese perfectly and controlling 40 adolescents at a time can be challenging."

Language barriers can also pose a challenge when she makes her lesson materials. She strives to create content that can be understood by all the students, and that is also challenging and rewarding.

She said, "Depending on the students' parents' professions and their upbringing, the level of English fluency and comprehension among students in the class can vary greatly."

With one computer available in each classroom for the teacher, she likes to make a PowerPoint presentation for every class.

Technology is not as heavily incorporated into the curriculum as it is in the United States, and she says students write in traditional notebooks and do not bring their electronics, such as cellphones and laptops, to school with them.

One of the biggest differences she finds teaching in China is that her students are not as accustomed to discussion-based lectures with a teacher compared to Western students. She says they have a tendency not to speak up or not give their full opinion on subjects in class.

Still, despite there being challenges and differences, Ms Iannini says that being able to see her students' interests grow in the material she teaches is the most rewarding part of the experience.

"There are certain kids in class who I know will one day go study abroad and work abroad and be leaders in the international community. It makes me proud to say that I think I've helped to inspire that in them," Ms Iannini said.

On top of teaching at the middle school, Ms Iannini also dedicates her time in Shanghai to tutoring students of all ages in English and French.

"There is a great demand for Western languages and cultural fluency here among the Chinese middle class," Ms Iannini said. "I know people in Shanghai, especially recent college graduates my age, who are making careers out of staying here and teaching."

Ms Iannini will continuing teaching in Shanghai until the end of the semester in June, then plans to begin her graduate studies at New York University School of Law in the fall.

"I will hopefully focus on international financial law and maybe get a master's in French/European law as well," Ms Iannini said. "I would love to return to Asia to work as a lawyer, or at the very least to work with clients from this region. I would feel very comfortable doing so."