My Story

I was born and raised in the city of Gwang-ju in South Korea. Since I was young, I have had an aptitude for art. Therefore, I entered an art high school instead of an academic high school. At that time, my major was Carving and Modeling (Sculpture), and I entered and graduated a university in my hometown as same major.

After I graduated the university, I wanted to be an art teacher. However, it is so hard to be a teacher in my country because of a lot of competition. I had worked as a substitute teacher, but I failed the teacher qualified examination several times for becoming a regular teacher. After that situation, I considered changing my field. Therefore, I studied computer programming such as Java and C# in a specialized educational institution.

I decided coming to the USA for a number of reasons. Actually, I fell in a cult about 6 years by my military mate after I was discharged from military duty. Fortunately, I realized the cult was wrong, but I already quit my programming job and gave up my goals. Around that time, my sister was studying for her master’s degree at Arizona State University in Arizona. My parents recommended that I go to the USA to distance myself from the bad situation in my country and start afresh. My original plan was simply to study English in the USA, but I wanted studying something more before I go back. After considering a number of options, I chose Multimedia Technology, and I studied it and graduated at Mesa Community College.

After I graduated the course, I did the OPT as a marketing and graphic design intern at a company called Easyflex in Garden Grove, California. After the OPT period is done, I decided to go to school again for get a job that I like in the USA. I found Academy of Art University that is a proper school for me, and I am studying Master of Web Design & New Media in the school for my future. I realized I like studying my major. Although the reason of coming to the USA was not good, it gave me great opportunities to have valuable experiences.