[YU newspaper 1663] Reporter Eom Soo-jin

School of Chemical Engineering class of ‘17 Ong Chin Yi selected for the Korean government’s invitational scholarship student program and studied at YU

Speaks four languages such as Korean, Chinese and English... Joins the global pharmaceutical company ‘Janssen Vaccine’ in April

Received a lot of assistance for studying abroad with scholarship benefits offered by the Korean government... Hopes to contribute to the development of Korean company

 Ong Chin Yi (24, School of Chemical Engineering, class of ‘17) was born in Malaysia and was selected for the Korean government’s invitational scholarship student program in 2017, and enrolled at the YU School of Chemical Engineering. She is currently an international goodwill ambassador of YU and is spending her college life filled with passion. I met with her to hear her story about studying abroad.

What made you decide to leave your home country and study in Korea?

 I first learned about Korean culture through a Korean friend at a language exchange group back in high school. I became interested in Korea since then and did some research on studying in Korea, and then I was selected for the Korean government’s international student scholarship program, so I came to Korea.

Why did you decide to major in chemistry?

 Back home, there was a chemical engineering complex near where I lived. I think I gained an admiration for chemistry seeing the shiny industry complex. And while taking chemistry classes in middle school, I felt that I possessed the aptitude in that field and decided to major in chemistry.

What difficulties did you encounter while majoring in chemistry in a different country?

 At first, I had a hard time because I couldn’t understand the chemical terminologies written in Korean. In order to overcome these difficulties, I studied high school chemistry classes again in Korean. Thanks to this, I was able to keep up with the major classes.

I understand you were part of the 17th international goodwill ambassadors of YU.

 By participating as a YU international goodwill ambassador, I was able to interact with other international students of various nationalities and gain the ability needed for the global age. I was also able to learn more about teamwork during the course of planning projects together with international goodwill ambassadors.

I heard that you will join a Korean company in April. How do you feel as you prepare to start your professional career?

 I learned a lot from the attitude of Koreans who work very hard in all of their tasks. I believe that if I work as hard as they do, I too will be able to have an enjoyable professional career. I experienced Korea’s organizational culture through my activities as an international goodwill ambassador, so I’m confident about professional life.

 

What goals do you want to achieve in Korea?

 As an undergraduate, I was selected as a state-funded scholarship student and received tuition and living expenses from the Korean government. Therefore, I plan to contribute to Korea using my abilities.  I want to use my abilities in my native tongue and Korean to help with the development of Korea. 

 

Do you have anything you would like to say to other international students who are pursuing their academic goals in Korea?

 I would like to say that hard work does not ensure success, but with sufficient effort, your opportunity will also come. You should work hard believing that there will be an opportunity in the future for your hard work studying abroad to pay off.