Personal History and Goals
My undergraduate career at the University of North Carolina Wilmington ended on an unseasonably cold and dreary day in 2007. Graduation itself mirrored the temper of the students, happy handshakes and beach balls tossed among the crowd, to the dismay of the administrators on hand. Lunch afterwards proved not so fun as my parents repeatedly inquired about my next step, the first step I would take into adulthood without them. As my only response was to continue scraping my plate, the silence granted them an opportunity to remind me that perhaps a fine arts degree was not such a good idea. Like I hadn’t heard that enough in the past four years.
Truth be told, I did not know then what I wanted in life because I wanted everything out of life. I had always worked through college, so I had savings and didn’t see the need to take a drastic next step immediately. I lived north of town, in a small house with two friends and our brindle boxer. We all performed menial day jobs, drank beer together at night and went boating on the weekends. Why should things change? And they didn’t.
Four months later though, I grew restless in my increasingly small college town. Because there was no suitable next step in sight (that paid worth a damn), I joined the Army and began a thrilling career as a field artillery officer. After nearly a year of training that took me all over the country, I finally arrived at my permanent unit. There, I met the operations officer who had been in the Army as long as I’d been alive. Some of his first words to me were, “You’re going to Iraq.” And I did.
I always tell people that the coolest thing about being deployed to a combat zone is later, after you have returned safely, to actually tell people that you were in a combat zone. During a soldier’s months away, life does not stop, but life relatable to all your friends and family back home does. Most days are ordinary, which for me meant managing the fire direction center at night and sleeping through most of the day. In January 2010, my platoon fired our first and only guided rockets of the mission. While the deployment was certainly highlighted by other exciting events, watching each rocket zoom through the air like a space shuttle filled me with unmatched pride.
A year and a half after I returned from Iraq, I was privileged enough to move to South Korea. US Army Garrison-Yongsan and the city of Seoul offered a young person’s paradise. I lived in a Korean villa near Itaewon, a largely international district right outside of the base. With the abundance of inexpensive transportation, travel throughout the peninsula was easy. My work as a targeting officer offered challenges, room to grow and allowed me to see priorities of the government at a high level.
It is the responsibility of every American soldier stationed in Korea to be a good neighbor to their Korean counterparts, whether at work in the community. Early in my rotation there, a Republic of Korea (ROK) officer approached me and asked if I would provide English lessons for him and some colleagues. I immediately agreed because he outranked me, but also because learning the language seemed important to them. The Korean people had been such gracious hosts so far. Finally, it was my turn to give something back.
Our English classes ran for one hour every Tuesday and Thursday. I largely chose the curriculum, except for when the students made specific requests. For example, one of the ROK officers was selected for an assignment in Norfolk, VA, so we covered the geography of the area and events in Washington, DC for his family to attend.
As the weeks passed, I felt more comfortable sharing my knowledge and love of language with the ROK officers. Their appreciation showed through and the class size continued to grow. Normally, I would never speak directly to a colonel in a group setting, but in English class, my natural language and teaching skills were actually what these high-ranking officers looked for. We spoke about historical and current events, which largely focused on the military actions of both Korea and the United States over time. Hearing from men who lived in a country at war for basically their entire lives supplied an education that I could never find in a lecture or textbook. They also spoke about their wives and children, many navigating the challenging Korean education system.
Completely by chance, more opportunities to teach language fell into my lap in Korea. My direct supervisor created a program in which soldiers from our office would read English books at a nearby Korean school. I went with my boss to meet the principal of the school, receive a tour and discuss expectations of the program. The duty was balanced amongst everyone in my office, so I only read at the school twice. However, each time was joyous and fulfilling as we were able to make a positive presence in the local community and spend time with children. After my tour in Korea ended, I received an email from my boss saying the news media had done a story about the benefits of our program. The article featured a big picture of my Korean counterpart and I smiling at the room of inquisitive children.
On two separate occasions, I visited the Korean Military Academy, their equivalent of the US’s West Point. There, I joined other young American officers and spoke to the cadets about my experiences as a soldier around the world. They were particularly intrigued about how I felt living in Korea, truly a fish out of water. Though these students were among some of the brightest in the entire peninsula, they were generally shy in class, not wishing to fumble their English. I tried to speak slowly, wrote key words on the chalkboard (now practically an antique) and encouraged them to “ask me anything”. They responded slowly with questions about American education and my service in Iraq at age 23 – not much older than them at the time.
All of these experiences in Korea were my first at teaching English. Each left me happy and invigorated to have shared something that came naturally to me. In the winter/spring of 2012, my discharge from the Army pending, I once again found myself looking for the next step. I considered pursing language studies at graduate school, but I wasn’t completely sold since I was such an amateur. I looked around for programs but also locations that would offer professional opportunities in case I didn’t feel teaching language was my calling.
At that time I had the opportunity to move to Hawaii with my boyfriend who I had met a few months earlier. I had no idea whether the relationship would work out, but I took a chance and enrolled in the MATESOL program at Hawaii Pacific University. Here, I developed my teaching practices from Korea through microteachings, student teaching and the study of different approaches to language learning. As I am preparing to graduate in a few months, it is my hope that I can someday return to an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) environment like Korea and apply all that I learned in graduate school while immersed in a culture different than my own.
My goals for the future are largely undefined at this time. In my third semester of graduate school, I applied for a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to Hungary. The English Teacher Assistantship would allow me to teach English at a Hungarian high school or university for nine months. I eagerly await the committee’s decision to know whether I can refine my teaching skills through this program. If not, of course I will still pursue language teaching, but where and how remains to be seen. I am interested in teaching in a private language school because I have experience with community-based programs from my student teaching. English for Specific Purposes courses interest me greatly. Perhaps I can develop one and implement it near Leavenworth, KS where I will move immediately after graduation.
Two years remain on my GI Bill (which provides tuition assistant to veterans), which I plan to use for another master’s degree. During my next enrollment I will study School Counseling, so I can become a high school guidance counselor. This will allow me to see a wider body of students and encourage them to pursue education after high school. This cause is of great importance and interest to me because levels of education directly correlate to wider acceptance of diversity, money earned, improved health and less involvement with crime. With a foundation as a teacher, stemming from my time at HPU, I think I would have the ability to have a profound impact on students.
Truth be told, I did not know then what I wanted in life because I wanted everything out of life. I had always worked through college, so I had savings and didn’t see the need to take a drastic next step immediately. I lived north of town, in a small house with two friends and our brindle boxer. We all performed menial day jobs, drank beer together at night and went boating on the weekends. Why should things change? And they didn’t.
Four months later though, I grew restless in my increasingly small college town. Because there was no suitable next step in sight (that paid worth a damn), I joined the Army and began a thrilling career as a field artillery officer. After nearly a year of training that took me all over the country, I finally arrived at my permanent unit. There, I met the operations officer who had been in the Army as long as I’d been alive. Some of his first words to me were, “You’re going to Iraq.” And I did.
I always tell people that the coolest thing about being deployed to a combat zone is later, after you have returned safely, to actually tell people that you were in a combat zone. During a soldier’s months away, life does not stop, but life relatable to all your friends and family back home does. Most days are ordinary, which for me meant managing the fire direction center at night and sleeping through most of the day. In January 2010, my platoon fired our first and only guided rockets of the mission. While the deployment was certainly highlighted by other exciting events, watching each rocket zoom through the air like a space shuttle filled me with unmatched pride.
A year and a half after I returned from Iraq, I was privileged enough to move to South Korea. US Army Garrison-Yongsan and the city of Seoul offered a young person’s paradise. I lived in a Korean villa near Itaewon, a largely international district right outside of the base. With the abundance of inexpensive transportation, travel throughout the peninsula was easy. My work as a targeting officer offered challenges, room to grow and allowed me to see priorities of the government at a high level.
It is the responsibility of every American soldier stationed in Korea to be a good neighbor to their Korean counterparts, whether at work in the community. Early in my rotation there, a Republic of Korea (ROK) officer approached me and asked if I would provide English lessons for him and some colleagues. I immediately agreed because he outranked me, but also because learning the language seemed important to them. The Korean people had been such gracious hosts so far. Finally, it was my turn to give something back.
Our English classes ran for one hour every Tuesday and Thursday. I largely chose the curriculum, except for when the students made specific requests. For example, one of the ROK officers was selected for an assignment in Norfolk, VA, so we covered the geography of the area and events in Washington, DC for his family to attend.
As the weeks passed, I felt more comfortable sharing my knowledge and love of language with the ROK officers. Their appreciation showed through and the class size continued to grow. Normally, I would never speak directly to a colonel in a group setting, but in English class, my natural language and teaching skills were actually what these high-ranking officers looked for. We spoke about historical and current events, which largely focused on the military actions of both Korea and the United States over time. Hearing from men who lived in a country at war for basically their entire lives supplied an education that I could never find in a lecture or textbook. They also spoke about their wives and children, many navigating the challenging Korean education system.
Completely by chance, more opportunities to teach language fell into my lap in Korea. My direct supervisor created a program in which soldiers from our office would read English books at a nearby Korean school. I went with my boss to meet the principal of the school, receive a tour and discuss expectations of the program. The duty was balanced amongst everyone in my office, so I only read at the school twice. However, each time was joyous and fulfilling as we were able to make a positive presence in the local community and spend time with children. After my tour in Korea ended, I received an email from my boss saying the news media had done a story about the benefits of our program. The article featured a big picture of my Korean counterpart and I smiling at the room of inquisitive children.
On two separate occasions, I visited the Korean Military Academy, their equivalent of the US’s West Point. There, I joined other young American officers and spoke to the cadets about my experiences as a soldier around the world. They were particularly intrigued about how I felt living in Korea, truly a fish out of water. Though these students were among some of the brightest in the entire peninsula, they were generally shy in class, not wishing to fumble their English. I tried to speak slowly, wrote key words on the chalkboard (now practically an antique) and encouraged them to “ask me anything”. They responded slowly with questions about American education and my service in Iraq at age 23 – not much older than them at the time.
All of these experiences in Korea were my first at teaching English. Each left me happy and invigorated to have shared something that came naturally to me. In the winter/spring of 2012, my discharge from the Army pending, I once again found myself looking for the next step. I considered pursing language studies at graduate school, but I wasn’t completely sold since I was such an amateur. I looked around for programs but also locations that would offer professional opportunities in case I didn’t feel teaching language was my calling.
At that time I had the opportunity to move to Hawaii with my boyfriend who I had met a few months earlier. I had no idea whether the relationship would work out, but I took a chance and enrolled in the MATESOL program at Hawaii Pacific University. Here, I developed my teaching practices from Korea through microteachings, student teaching and the study of different approaches to language learning. As I am preparing to graduate in a few months, it is my hope that I can someday return to an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) environment like Korea and apply all that I learned in graduate school while immersed in a culture different than my own.
My goals for the future are largely undefined at this time. In my third semester of graduate school, I applied for a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to Hungary. The English Teacher Assistantship would allow me to teach English at a Hungarian high school or university for nine months. I eagerly await the committee’s decision to know whether I can refine my teaching skills through this program. If not, of course I will still pursue language teaching, but where and how remains to be seen. I am interested in teaching in a private language school because I have experience with community-based programs from my student teaching. English for Specific Purposes courses interest me greatly. Perhaps I can develop one and implement it near Leavenworth, KS where I will move immediately after graduation.
Two years remain on my GI Bill (which provides tuition assistant to veterans), which I plan to use for another master’s degree. During my next enrollment I will study School Counseling, so I can become a high school guidance counselor. This will allow me to see a wider body of students and encourage them to pursue education after high school. This cause is of great importance and interest to me because levels of education directly correlate to wider acceptance of diversity, money earned, improved health and less involvement with crime. With a foundation as a teacher, stemming from my time at HPU, I think I would have the ability to have a profound impact on students.
Photo from The Official Homepage of the United States Army
Photo caption: PV2 Lim and I address South Korean schoolchildren, Spring, 2012
Photo caption: PV2 Lim and I address South Korean schoolchildren, Spring, 2012