The single strongest aspect of my application to the University of XXXX Fellowship Program is the fact that I am a Korean woman who was raised mostly in Tanzania and Kenya in addition to living in South Korea and the United States. I have also visited the United Arab Emirates, China, France, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. A native speaker of Korean and a near-native speaker of English, I am also fully fluent in Swahili and French. Thus, I will excel in the celebration of diversity as a fellow in your program.
Having earned my BA in Sociology and African Studies from XXXX University (2005) and my MA in Broadcast Journalism from XXXX, my dream of earning the PHD Degree in Second Language Education/TESOL represents a career change. Still, I hope to qualify based on my current professional experience since I was appointed Associate Professor of English Language Studies at XXXX University in 2014. Since that time, I have served as a key facilitator for foreign student exchange programs with three universities, in China, India and Thailand, bridging cultural and language barriers and opening lines of communication. I also serve as a board member of the Multicultural Family Support Center in Cheongju where we help immigrant workers to learn Korean.
Prior to moving to Korea, from 2010 through 2014, I worked as a lead anchor and politics reporter at XXXX News on the pristine island of Saipan. The only TV station on the island, the community depended on us to keep them informed. I am especially proud of my role helping to expose the corruption of the former governor, Ben Fitial, holding the health care system accountable to international standards, and breaking top stories on a newly formed immigration visa designed to help address the plight of an estimated 13,000 transitional workers on the island. I served as the voice of and advocate for my community. The TV Ads that I created included island-wide immunization projects such as the, ‘Let’s Move’ campaign- a healthy eating project started by the First Lady Michelle Obama - and campaigns against sexual and domestic violence.
My ultimate dream is to become an international educator designing innovative global curriculums that transcend national borders, moving us closer to freedom, equality, and peace around the world. I have chosen this career path as a result of my firm belief that education with an international focus has the power to break barriers and build bridges by sharing this vision of international higher education to innovate, discover, and to dream first: as a Korean citizen, as an Asian woman, and a dedicated citizen of the global community.
I have taught over 1000 EFL students over the past three years and I look forward to developing curriculums that reflect intercultural communications strategies that promote Pan-Asian and global identities, especially through the development of creative, innovative audio-visual materials that take advantage of social media as language learning tool.
Fellowship Personal Statement TESOL PHD Raised Africa