Kelly (Design Intern) and I being welcomed at Seoul Int'l Airport!
It’s 2 AM. I’m in my dorm, presumably studying for finals (but actually on Facebook), when I receive a call. Fast forward two weeks, and I’m boarding a plane to South Korea. I am now the Director of the Global Mentorship Initiative. I can only imagine what the title means.
As a barely literate foreigner who renounced his Korean citizenship, I already feel uneasy about being back in the homeland, and the lack of information doesn’t help. The night before I start, my phone pings with the message, “Let’s meet at Gangnam station… Near exit 5 downstairs”. I meet up with Zubair, and we head to our office space, open our laptops, and begin working.
Days later, I’ve reached over 7000 students on Facebook. However insignificant the interaction between us, I have impacted their lives. And now that I am two weeks in, I can only describe my work as meaningful. I can’t reduce my responsibilities to a list, but I don’t want or need to. I still have trouble commuting to and from work, but I’m slowly learning. My workload might subject me to sleepless nights and bouts of confusion, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love what I am doing, whether I’m creating content for GlobalMI, running our Facebook page, or even just coming up with ideas. I love what I’m doing; the eight-hour work day seems to melt away (but whether I’m productive or not is another question). This year is going to be a good one, I can feel it.
As a barely literate foreigner who renounced his Korean citizenship, I already feel uneasy about being back in the homeland, and the lack of information doesn’t help. The night before I start, my phone pings with the message, “Let’s meet at Gangnam station… Near exit 5 downstairs”. I meet up with Zubair, and we head to our office space, open our laptops, and begin working.
Days later, I’ve reached over 7000 students on Facebook. However insignificant the interaction between us, I have impacted their lives. And now that I am two weeks in, I can only describe my work as meaningful. I can’t reduce my responsibilities to a list, but I don’t want or need to. I still have trouble commuting to and from work, but I’m slowly learning. My workload might subject me to sleepless nights and bouts of confusion, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love what I am doing, whether I’m creating content for GlobalMI, running our Facebook page, or even just coming up with ideas. I love what I’m doing; the eight-hour work day seems to melt away (but whether I’m productive or not is another question). This year is going to be a good one, I can feel it.
David is freshman at Amherst College studying sociology and economics. He is passionate about transforming education policy to tackle socioeconomic issues on a global scale.