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My name is Woo Sik Jung from Seoul, South Korea. I have been
at Oklahoma State University for several years. I earned my bachelor
degree and master degree in special education at Oklahoma State
University. I am now working on my Ph.D. in special education at OSU.
When I was in Stillwater, it was a culture shock to me. Since
I came from a big city, I did not know how to deal with a totally
different environment and people. At that time, I was not a good
English speaker, I remembered I had a very hard time to communicate
with my classmates and professors. Especially, my major was required
"Speaking" and "Speaking" and Speaking". In addition, most of my
classmates and professors were females, so it was one of reasons
that made it difficult to make friends to me. Sometimes, I felt I
was stupid, but I prayed and worked hard. I think most international
students might experience what I had experienced before. I would
like to suggest that you do not give up and stay on your track. You
will be proud of yourself and feel your success like what I feel
right now.
Most international students say that I spend most of my
spare time with friends from my country because it is more
comfortable and easy to communicate each other. Of course, it is
true and I agree with them. However, many international students
suffer from lack of English proficiency and social adjustment
problem with American students. I was one of them and still fighting
with those problems. One day, I sat down in my chair and considered
over how I could solve those problems to survive on campus. Finally,
I decided to participate in activities and programs on campus. In
the beginning it was not easy due to my personality and different
cultural values. I served as a secretary and a President of Korean
Student Association. I had many opportunities to interact with other
international organizations and campus activities. It provided me to
improve my leadership and interpersonal skills. After I served both
positions I had more confidence to interact with my classmates and
professors. Whenever I have had extra time, I have tried to be
involved in activities and programs around campus. It really helped
me to improve my English skills and social adjustment.
Since I have lived in the resident hall, I wanted to be more
active in residential life, so I applied for a resident assistant
position. It was a great opportunity to interact with students from
other cultural backgrounds. I have had a wonderful time with my
residents and my staff members. Now, I am ready to leave the campus,
I may not come back to the campus. However, I am definitely sure
that this campus and my residential life will always be in my heart.
Finally, I would like to say "Thank you" all I have ever met during
my campus life. You all are very precious people and influence on my
life. I will completely finish my doctoral degree in this summer and
teach preservice educators in the college. I have shared my
experiences with you on how you can be a successful in college.
Thank you again and God bless you.
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