Life Before College

I was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea until I was 10 years old. Then, I moved to the United States to live with my aunt and uncle in a small city called Melbourne, Florida. Ever since I moved to the US, I visited Seoul to see my friends & family during the summers, but I didn’t do any traveling other than that due to not having the opportunity.

When I was in 10th grade, I was able to participate in a 9-days field studies with Florida Institute of Technology professor, exploring Costa Rica during Spring of 2015. It was total of 3 months journey in which we would meet up on Saturdays for a research class where I learned about the environment (landscape and species of animals/plants) and the culture of Costa Rica in order to have background knowledge before immersing ourselves into the regions. While I were there, I travelled across many regions, such as San Jose, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio National Park and interacted with various type of nature and locals. It was an amazing experience, as I was able to travel around while being exposed to nature during activities, such as hiking, snorkeling, and white water kayaking. I was able to go to the Galapagos Islands in 12th grade through the same program, in which I was able to learn my love for nature. The trips were one of the most amazing experiences that I ever had in my life, so I looked out for ways to participate in a similar experience when I came to college.

How I Found Out About Pacific Program

While growing up, I had countless marathons of Lord of the Rings trilogy extended edition movies. I always wanted to visit New Zealand due to this, and when I heard about the pacific program of visiting New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji, I knew it would be a perfect chance to tie one of my interests with the program.

As a mechanical engineering major, I also wanted to learn how to connect environment with what I am learning in classroom settings, in which innovation can occur while preserving the works of nature. One of my goal of this program is to figure out a way to apply engineering mind towards the nature and expand my knowledge/experiences in the environment settings.

Process After I Got Accepted To The Program

When I found out that I got accepted into the Pacific Program, I was literally jumping up and down from excitement of being able to travel to New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. I started thinking about what to take to the trip, and one thing immediately popped into my head: my snorkeling gear! I loved snorkeling in Galapagos so much, as I was able to swim with all the sea animals and explore a whole new world. I started thinking of all the great things that I could do in the three countries and waiting for another half a year to actually be able to travel seemed so far away.

Once we got out of classes in December, I started packing for the trip almost immediately. Since I also planned on camping out, I also decided to pack my sleeping bag along with my snorkeling gear. Packing has never been more exciting, as I was counting down the days until I was leaving for New Zealand. Although I was sad to say goodbye to my friends & families, I was so excited to explore a place across the globe. I was thrilled to make new friends (as I only knew two people going into the program) and travel all over the countries.

Goal For The Next 12 Weeks

I have several goals that I want to achieve while Participating in the Pacific Program for the next 12 weeks:

1. Make new friends!
2. Post at least 1 blog post per week
3. Do well in academics
4. Take weekend trips and explore around the country to see the nature
5. Have fun!

Some Q/A About Me!

What are some of your extracurricular hobbies and interests?

• I played violin for 10 years.

How do you feel about keeping a journal during study abroad? What type of end product do you hope to create?

• I already keep a personal journal, in which I write about what happened everyday. Previously, I would write once in a while, but since 3 months ago, I started writing more regularly so that I can remember different events that I went through and the emotions that I felt during those times.
• However specifically for Pacific Program, I plan to do something that I never done before: blogging! I thought it would be a good way to share it with friends and families of different things that I did while participating in the program.

What movie character are you?

• I’ve been told by different people that I am Baby Groot from Guardians of Galaxy 2.

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

• I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor; I knew it from when I was little because my parents really liked the song. I think it’s a good song since the main message is that I will survive through things that may seem very tough at moments.