Former AAC scholar meets the challenge

Eunjin Kim is not afraid to change directions. She embraces new challenges and never gives up. That tenacious attitude defines Eunjin’s  spirit  and exemplifies not only her current success  as a graduate student in MU’s MBA program, but will undoubtedly guide her future successes too.
Eunjin did her undergraduate work at Chonnam National University (CNU) in South Korea. Her double major was French and business. It was at CNU that she set her sights more firmly on her dreams.
“I was studying French but it was not my dream to be a French teacher,” she said. “I wanted to challenge myself, so I enrolled in an engineering program.”
This would not be the last time Eunjin would seek out a challenge. It would not be the last time she would change direction either or the last time she’d hear her friends say “you’re crazy.”
Setting her sights on completing a two- year engineering program was one thing—getting into that all-boys engineering school would be quite another. At first, all she received were rejections from the institute and advice from friends to “just marry someone” and get a safe, secure job.
Fortunately, her family was a big support. “My mother and father said, if you want to do it, then do it.”
So Eunjin did it and it wasn’t easy either. 
“I cried every night for six months,” she said. “But I didn’t give up.
Two years later she’d earned 11 certificates for both engineering and office related courses, been featured on television for being the first woman to earn a Mechatronic Certificate, and learned a lesson that set her firmly on the pace she keeps today.
“I learned a lot more than technology, “ she said. “I learned that with effort I could do anything.”
When she returned to CNU she continued her double major and graduated in 2004. That same year, she applied for the WESA program, which offered her working experience in Chicago. But a chance invitation by one of her professors to attend a workshop facilitated by a professor from Purdue University changed her mind about Chicago, so she skipped the final WESA interview and once again shifted direction.
“It was a workshop for master’s students. I was not a master’s student but my professor said he wanted a student with good English skills.”
During the workshop, the master’s students did not ask any questions, so her professor turned to her and said—“Eunjin can ask a question.”
She doesn’t remember the question she asked, but she remembers what happened after the workshop. “After the workshop, the professor from Purdue told me I should apply for a master’s program. I began to think about it.”
Her friends told her it would not be easy. They tried to convince her that the professor was just saying nice things like all Americans do. Eunjin admits she was never that interested in going abroad. She was much more interested in getting a good score on the TOEIC test.
“Most of my friends had graduated because I had studied engineering for two years but people kept telling me to go abroad before I graduated—it would make my resume look better.”
That was when a friend, who had participated in MU’s Asian Affairs Center’s six-week EPI program, recommended that Eunjin give it a try. And so, as one might expect—she did, and soon found herself a participant in the winter 2004 program.  It turned out to be a good decision.
“In EPI, my confidence went up,” she said.  “The classes and the professional experiences helped me overcome some stereotypes about studying English. In Korea, we concentrate on grammar, but here in EPI,  I learned that English is a communication tool, and that it can also help me understand the culture and see things more clearly than before.”
During her EPI time, Eunjin also began to grow more interested in the education system in the U.S.
“One of my ambassadors encouraged me to sit in on one of his classes. It was a great experience,” she said.
But the idea of just sitting and observing things is really not Eunjin’s style, so when the professor asked the class a question, she automatically raised her hand to answer it.
“I just answered it and everyone looked at me. It was just a kind of an automatic calculation for me. I didn’t have to think about it--unfortunately when the professor asked me to explain my answer, I couldn’t.”
Explanation or not, this would be another turning point for Eunjin. The experience would inspire her, and she would begin to wonder what would happen if she really studied here at MU.
During her six weeks in the EPI program, her excitement about the teaching style in the U.S. also grew. She liked the emphasis U.S. universities placed on process. “We are more outcome oriented in Korea.” Eunjin says her internship at Parent Link also inspired her and increased her understanding of the American workplace. “I remember observing interviews and hearing them ask “Why should we hire you.”
It was such a simple question, but Eujin says it started her thinking about how important it is for job seekers to be able to answer the question well.
Not all EPI experiences were quite so life changing or inspiring, but all of them were meaningful. One of the things Eunjin says she liked best was just hanging out with her new American friends. “I tried to hang out with Americans as much as I could. I went to parties, played pool and took all the opportunities I could. My three roommates and I tried to use every moment to speak English, even though is was really hard.”
When Eunjin returned to Gwangju, she landed a job at Honam University working three days a week preparing students for the TOEIC test. After graduating from CNU, she entered the master’s program, studying marketing. As a master’s student, she published two papers and presented another at a conference. Her GPA was perfect and a scholarship from the Korean Government allowed her to begin her studies in the MBA program at MU, specializing in marketing. Today, Eunjin has a full scholarship, a stipend and an RA position. She will graduate in May and will be applying to the PhD program. What does her future hold? Eunjin says a lot of her friends got stuck and stopped dreaming. They took the safe, secure jobs.
“I want to become a professor. I want to inspire students,” she said. “I want to have that kind of influence. I want to tell them my story. If I could contribute research that would help make a better world and inspire even one student, I think that would be enough."