Personal Statement – UC – Global Studies 1. What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field — such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities — and what you have gained from your involvement. After I was discharged from the military service, my interest was to work abroad but at that time, I was not yet decided on what career goal to pursue. However, the trend towards going global emerged and I was absorbed by AP International as one of their marketing team that introduces internships in countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, and Australia to Korean students. This allowed me to have a glimpse of the different jobs from these different countries. Oftentimes, I would ask my superior who already had the chance to visit the countries offering internships some details about the job or would surf online to see what I was promoting. Little by little my interest in becoming a global internship analyst grew and I started to envision what I would like to become in the future. My passion for global internships developed and contrary to others’ motivation of doing the work for profit, mine was more into helping fellow Koreans work abroad not just for greener pasture but for the fulfillment of their aspiration of doing what they love to do. I believe that having a job that matches your qualifications and aspirations will lead to excellent outcomes. And this passion roused my interest to study Global Studies and Development Studies so I can have a better understanding about culture, society and development of each country. I aspire to lead people in finding jobs across countries and take advantage of the benefits of globalization. This drew me to study in the United States where diversity is respected and various ethnic groups and cultures coexist. aspire for. Further, having a glimpse of other countries’ culture made more appreciative of my own culture and realized that my own diversity gets to complete the world we know because my difference provides the answer to what they don’t know about my side of the world. I am positive that your program in Global and Development Studies is in line with my educational and career objectives and helps me maximize my potentials in using tools to instill innovation and global competitiveness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are? I am proud to be a people person and this quality has enabled me to understand other’s diversity and appreciate their culture. I also recognized the advantage of learning foreign languages in my desire to connect to other races; hence, I took the initiative to learn Japanese and English, making me a trilingual. However, I still want to be a more multilingual person so I am also currently taking Spanish lessons to widen my horizons. And these learnings have opened doors of opportunities for me as I was recommended by my Japanese professor to tutor Japanese at Caltech University. I am not a native Japanese speaker and my Japanese was not perfect either, but my Professor saw my ‘go-getter’ personality and the enthusiasm to master the language, thus, endorsed me to become a Teaching Assistant. At first I was reluctant to accept the position as I know that there were more deserving students than I am but having a great help from my tutor in Economics changed my position. I got an A in my Economics class through the help of my tutor and I wanted to show my gratitude by sharing the same accommodation to others. I wanted others to experience the same pleasure of getting high marks the way that I did. However, I did not know that it was easier said than done. During my first taste of tutoring, I was asked a question that I do not know the answer. And though I tried to answer that question the best way I could, ---------------------------------------------------------------------------