Personal Statement- Grade 10

If I were to describe myself in three words, I would describe myself as motivated, diligent, and dependable. As a third-culture kid, I’ve lived in many different countries growing up, such as Russia, Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Through the unique opportunities that I was fortunate enough to experience, which has definitely influenced who I am today, my passions, and my goals. I feel very privileged to be able to have access to such a variety of different activities and services at my school, hence this has allowed me to participate in various concerts, performances, service fairs while working with students from different backgrounds and cultures.

If interested in a certain topic vicinity, I commit to this by spending a lot of time, either researching, watching videos, or even just going to the library to find a book to read. In the last two years, I have taken part in a focus group called ‘Sky School’ which provides refugees with both online and in-class education. My grandfather himself had fled from North Korea to South Korea when he was younger, therefore although he is not directly classified as a refugee, I was able to understand the situations refugees are stuck in. Sky School had sparked my interest since its first appearance during an assembly when I was in grade eight since then I immediately went through an interview process in order to join this focus group. Refugee education being an area of interest I have, I haven’t missed a single session of Sky School, and have always committed to coming on time every Tuesday after school in order to learn more about refugee education, actively suggest new ideas, and even work with new people. Therefore, through sky school, I also took part in a Hackathon which is an intense weekend in order to draft an ‘English for change-makers’ curriculum for refugees taking part in the Sky School curriculum. This was a very new experience for me as I spent my weekend at school working with teachers and students from my focus group to discuss problems, make a decision, and suggest new ideas. One of the main goals that I have for my future self is to be someone who can make a positive difference towards someone else’s life, I believe that the smallest actions can lead to the most substantial impacts.

As a young child, I had many aspirations and built a variety of hobbies by learning new instruments such as the piano, flute, and violin. I have also taken part in sports teams in middle school and even achieved a silver acsis medal for badminton division A. Coming into High School, one of the most important things that I was able to learn was the importance of building new relationships with new people with the same passions and interests as me. I was able to be part of ‘HS Jazz Band’ and perform at a ‘wavelengths’ concert, build new relationships, and even improve my flute skills through other students. Although our esplanade concert was canceled due to the unforeseen consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am still eager to continue performing at concerts, assemblies and even building new relationships through this activity. Followed by music concerts, I took part in cultural which is one of the biggest performances at our school and Kahaani, which allowed me to develop an interest in dance. As a South Korean, Kpop, and dance is an immense culture that is widely known globally, however, I was able to learn more about different cultures through learning different dances.

When working with other people in group projects I tend to facilitate group discussions, while trying to encourage everyone to pitch in their ideas or suggestions. I feel that everyone has their strengths and improvements that they can make, however by working as a team, it doesn’t only allow individuals to improve their collaboration skills but also build new relationships with others, This year, I have been part of student voice, in order to represent my class and actively give out ideas for our grade level during our Monday lunchtime sessions. I also took part in a service called lionbefrienders where I was vice-chair, and always worked with the chair to make the best out of each session. Through these experiences, this has shaped a leader-like quality within me, as I enjoy working in groups or teams.

Through my participation in the Silver National Youth Achievement Award that received this year, I have built a habit of setting new goals and tracking my progress through reflection videos and spreadsheets. I would like to maintain my high achievements by working hard and fully committing towards tasks that I have been assigned while juggling different activities and services, and building new relationships.