Undergraduate / Soak up knowledge - University of Washington Personal Statement 2017 [4]

A. Academic Elements (required)

•Academic History

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Passion for language via music

I had a huge passion in Korean language because of K-pop music when I was still a 14-year-old girl. I started learning Korean at that age, and I was a fast-learner in the class. I remember all the Korean character in a month, and I could use it very unhindered. It surprised my Korean teacher; so, after that, I keep learning Korean until now. After I study abroad to the US, I had to learn Korean by myself; however, since the college that I was studying at does not provide Korean language course, I got a chance to go to University of Washington to take Korean courses for two quarters. After taking the placement test, I was placed in Korean203. I developed more knowledge in the class, and corrected some language mistake that I used to make. Moreover, I decided to take Korean 301 in the following quarter because it was the best Korean class that I have ever taken. Since this class was challenging to me, I got to study more than what I used to be. As expected, in both of my Korean courses, I got A+, as a perfect average of what I wanted. Even though I had to commute to UW to take Korean course after my classes in Seattle Central College; but it was worth it. Those satisfied results were not just come from nowhere; I did a lot of works on it. Why? Because I love Korean. During every summer break, I will go to Korea a month. Not only traveling, but taking classes at Konkuk University to enhance my Korean skills. In my experiences, I got into the highest level in the program every-time. When I just went Korea for traveling with my friends, I would always be the tourist guide and the translator. Those opportunities are helping me to get more chances to practice my Korean skills, and I have been doing a perfect job on it.

The reason why I want to transfer to University of Washington is because, I have a huge passion about learning Korean, and I have strong confidence that I will do perfect job in this major. Furthermore, Communication is an interesting major to study; but, during the time I am studying in UC Davis, I am still having a big vision of being a translator one-day, not a public relation person.

After I graduate from university, I hope I could work in a place that needs perfect language skills. Like travel agency, or a translation agency. My father was a tourist guide in Japan for about 10 years because he was a Japanese major person. He told me that he enjoyed that time, because being a tourist guide can travel all around, but they are still earning money. He always tells us about how much he loves that job, and how much hard-work he put in it; I was affected by my father. I told myself that one-day, I will be a person who enjoys the job and do all my best in it; just like my father did.

I have a personality is that once I decide to achieve a gold, I will do all my best to get the best result. Since I got a huge interest in Korean, I tried lots of different ways to learn Korean when I did not get the chance to have a Korean in-class lecture. For instant, I talked to my Korean roommate only in Korean every-day, I watched a lot of Korean drama but without looking at the subtitle; and because I love listening to Korean music, I tried translating the lyrics to Chinese, and then searched online to find out the errors that I made. Although I used my own method to learn Korean, but because of those hard-works I have done, my Korean skills are way better than others. Thus, I have 100 percent of confidence that I am all prepared for Korean major.

When I was still living in Seattle, UW was the dream school that I always want to study at. I hope to gain more knowledge and information about how Korean language was made, and more history background. From the experiences that I had before, I believe the University of Washington would let me develop more useful knowledge for future career. I wish I could be part of the campus that welcomes students from all ethnic backgrounds.