GKS-U 2023 Personal Statement

Hello! I need honest feedback on my personal statement and am open to constructive criticism. Please feel free to edit or suggest anything. I've bleeped my personal information. Let me know which part misses fluency or could be better. Please be generous with the feedback as I will be needing it the most. Thank you

Disclaimer: This essay does not contain future plans or language study plan.

PROMPT
- Motivations with which you apply for this program
- Educational background
- Significant experiences you have had; persons or events that have had a significant influence on you
- Extracurricular activities such as club activities, community service activities or work experiences
- If applicable, describe awards you have received, publications you have made, or skills you have acquired, etc.

To discover the world of digital science, I volunteered at the National Digital Design Conference in 2019. The conference had invited the greatest graphic designers from all across the globe, to talk about their successful journeys in the digital world. The days I had spent there, increased my curiosity for Computer Science. The speeches left a huge impact on me and inspired me to dig deeper into the world of technology. I loved how vast the concept of technology is, it goes way beyond a person's imagination. It compels me to combine my analytical and creative abilities, while constantly providing exciting new opportunities. As I started to take short courses online apart from my high school curriculum, it grew my interest. I realized I wanted to continue learning about computers and its internal working, so I decided to pursue this subject as my major.

It was after I had passed my 11th grade when I stumbled upon an article about the leading technological experts in the world. South Korea being among the top two names on the list piqued my interest. I began to learn more about South Korea's technological advancements and how it became a global innovation leader. My fascination with South Korea also stems from the way South Korea has invested in its Research and Development sector. The rapid growth of this sector has not only helped South Korea to become one of the largest economies but has also helped the education sector to become world-famous. This strategy of aligning the interests of the government and the education sector has greatly helped South Korea's growth and has helped me realize that the country suits and benefits my goals. I want to discover the world and myself, and I believe South Korea is the place for me to do so. The country's diverse student body, where people who have varied perspectives on the world and have different life experiences that impact their thinking; being able to live with such people, share values, and come across different cultures is something I'd love to experience.

Despite coming from a middle-class family, my two siblings and I have always studied in best high schools due to scholarships. My father being away for work had instilled a strong sense of responsibility in the three of us. Under my mother's supervision, who works full-time too; we grew up to be strong and independent individuals. Realizing that education would provide a better future for me and my family, I strived to be among the top students throughout my academic journey. Scoring **% in my secondary school gave me the academic boost that I needed. During my high school, I have acquired a quite a few skills regarding my major. Learned the basic coding in C++ in my secondary school. I took different programming courses online as well related to system administration. Learning the basics of the current trends in research such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity had piqued my interest a lot.

While working harder and focusing on my higher education, I joined the Environment & WWF Society in my high school. I was appointed as the Vice President due to my leadership skills. My time as the Vice President was quite eventful. We, as a team managed to arrange a tree plantation drive at our own college. I held informative sessions in individual classes ranging from grade 1 to 6. The aim was to educate them about the effect of climate change and how we as individuals can play our part in saving the planet. This ignited a passion in me for community service. Joining an organization made by students helped me be involved with a lot of volunteering events. The organization had partnered with various NGOs to help the underprivileged. I was able to provide help by collecting donations for the organization that works on providing safe drinking water to rural areas of *** using filtration powered by solar panels. Upon the recent flood crisis, I also collected clothes from my neighborhood and donated them to the affected areas.

Growing up, I was also fascinated by nail art. The idea of expressing myself on the tiniest of canvases intrigued me. I used to work with acrylics and colors, channeled my inner creativity into creating patterns and designs that were both aesthetically pleasing and easy to wear. With time, I started receiving praise and appreciation from my friends and family, who found beauty in what I did and encouraged me to pursue this hobby professionally. I got the boost that I needed. It was just what it required to inspire confidence in me to start a professional nail art business. I have continued my business as a hobby and as something I love to do for myself.

A very exciting opportunity came my way while I was in secondary school. I had applied to the *************** Exchange Programme and had qualified for the second round. On the interview day, I was fully prepared but being called in last among all the candidates made me quite nervous. However, after leaving the room I believed I could make it to the final round. A few weeks later, an email by the institute read that I wasn't among the few successful candidates. Disappointed and dispirited, I started to think of what possibly went wrong in hopes of getting an answer. Thinking day and night, recalling the interview from the beginning till I walked out, it was the only thing on my mind. Upon talking it out with my mother, asking for what she thought of my responses. Her honest feedback strangely made me rethink my answers and I started to realize I needed something else - self-reflection. It wasn't a specific answer or my portfolio that resulted in my failure. Rather it was my lack of self-confidence and my fear of failure. Overcoming my fears was the only way out. I had hoped for a successful life, and I wasn't about to give up on it because of my fears. I needed to be a better version of myself, so I began to work on myself. I began testing various methods, reading, meditation, spirituality and affirmations. With time, I found myself improving gradually and with this development came resilience. I became more determined to achieve my goals and learnt my lesson to not let my fears become a hurdle in my success.

I believe my development and growth will always facilitate my journey towards my goal and will help me make the most out of this program. At the end of the day, I'm confident that I'll step out of South Korea as a Global Citizen and someone who's knowledge and experience will be used for the greater good.