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Mi Young Kim |
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It took a trip across the ocean for Mi Young Kim to “finalize”
her academic dreams.
As a young girl growing up in Seoul, Korea, Mi Young was
pursuing the same dream that her father had in his youth: to be
an artist, majoring in oriental painting.
But while a student at Hong I University in Seoul, Mi Young took
a course from an art therapy professor who had studied in the
United States. She decided to follow in her footsteps and pursue
a degree in art therapy in the States, but she knew she needed
to learn to speak English fluently. So she moved in with her
maternal aunt in Chattanooga and enrolled in English as a Second
Language (ESOL) classes at UTC. One and a half years later, she
transferred to Dalton State.
“Shortly after I started classes at Dalton State, I discovered
that I have a really great interest in science and math,” says
Mi Young, 25. “As a result, my career goals have changed. Now I
plan to major in biology or biochemistry and to become a
dentist.”
Her love of math comes as a bit of surprise to Mi Young, who
admits she was not a devoted math student during her high school
career. In fact, she likes to tell the students that she helps
in Dalton State’s Math Lab that she only answered eight out of a
possible 80 questions right on a practice SAT-type test in high
school. |
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“I tell them that as Dr. Collison (Associate Professor of
Chemistry) says, that wasn’t just a ‘failing’ grade; that was a
‘fatal’ grade. I also tell them that if I could learn to be good
in math, anyone can. I wasn’t interested in math when I was
young. But I’ve discovered that math is not a hard area of
study. It’s just a matter of paying attention to sequencing and
logic.”
Mi Young believes that one has to “enjoy” math to be able to
excel in it.
“If you don’t enjoy doing it, you’re never going to make it,”
she says. “But you need to understand what you’re doing to be
able to enjoy it.”
That’s where her role as a math tutor comes in.
“Some people don’t really understand the concepts in class, but
they get it in the math lab. When they really begin to enjoy
solving the problems, it’s really a great feeling – just knowing
that you’ve been able to help.”
Since she enrolled at Dalton State, Mi Young has enjoyed great
academic success, largely due to her determination and strong
work ethic.
An Honors program student and a DSC Student Ambassador, Mi Young
has achieved a 3.84 grade point average and has been granted
several DSC Scholarships, including the Arvine Phelps
Scholarship. She also received an international student fee
waiver, which makes her education more affordable.
She finds that there are big differences between the large
Korean university she started classes in and the small, more
personalized atmosphere at Dalton State.
“In Korea, I had classes with 200 or 300 people, so the
professors never really knew if I was attending the class or
not. Also, in Korea, we couldn’t talk with professors casually.
But here, professors and students relate on a much closer level.
It’s easier to talk with them.”
The “lost in translation” issues have been difficult at times,
she says, so she’s been in the habit of tape recording most of
her classes.
She even presented retired Professor of History Dr. James
Stevenson with a CD of his daily lectures in the United States
history class she took from him during his last semester of
teaching in the spring of 2006.
In her spare time, Mi Young says she enjoys cooking and even
cleaning, but the “nerdiest thing” she likes to do is to read
textbooks. “Organic chemistry is my favorite,” she says.
She also enjoys spending time with her fiancé, who is originally
from Taiwan, whom she met on a blind date. The two plan to marry
in a few years and settle in the states, probably in Georgia.
In the nearer future, however, she plans to graduate from Dalton
State next summer and to pursue her biology or biochemistry
degree through a regional university before entering dental
school.
“What I’ve learned from being in school here is that trying hard
never hurts you. If you really want something, you have to go
for it.”
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