Mango takes the top seat in her department with perfect scores in every course
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- Writer 커뮤니케이션팀
- 보도일자 2014-12-22
There was a student who especially grabbed everyone's attention at the honor student and highest honor student award that was held at the Centennial Hall's Han Sang Eun Lounge on September 22. The student who proudly placed her name as the winner of the highest honor student award out of all the Korean students was Mango Jane Angar, who is studying Political Science and International Relations at our school. A foreign student from Kenya took the top seat in her department with 'all-A-pluses', which is incredibly difficult even for Korean students. I was able to meet her who is currently under the spotlight along with constant media coverage.
When I congratulated her on winning the highest honor student award, she put on a big smile and said, "I was also surprised that I received perfect scores in all my courses." She took a total of 6 courses with 17 credits last term which included 2 major courses such as 'Understanding Globalization' and 4 liberal arts courses like 'Reading and Writing' and received perfect scores in all of the courses. In particular, she surprised everyone by receiving an A+ in 'Reading and Writing', which is known to be difficult even for Korean students.
Her secret to studying, 'asking questions'
I asked what her secret is to receiving perfect scores in every class. She said, "I was really worried about my grades when I first came to Korea" and "it was difficult because I wasn't used to the new learning environment and couldn't fluently express myself in Korean.” But, she overcame such difficulties by 'asking questions'. Every time there was something she wasn't sure about, she asked her professors and tried to really make the knowledge her own.
She also said, based on her interest in Korean politics, studying by searching a variety of other sources such as news articles, books and movies related to her classes other than the assignments given gave her good results.
I decided to come to Korea because of my interest in Korean democratization.
Her decision to come to Korea stemmed from her interest in Korean politics. As she learned about the Korean War during her high school days, she had an interest in how a country torn apart by war so rapidly rebuilt its economy, which led her to read books related to Korea.
In particular, she said while she was studying about the democratization process of Korea which is so similar to Kenya, she was deeply impressed by the efforts of the Korean people to never give up in difficult situations. Her favorite Korean political figure is the former President Kim Dae-jung she said. "The most interesting topic I learned during Korean politics class was the Gwangju Democratization Movement." She added, "My heart leaped when I learned about the former President Kim Dae-jung's aspiration for democratization."
While she accumulated knowledge about Korea each day, she heard the news of the former President Roh Moo-hyun's death and learned about our political issues such as presidential impeachment, physical confrontation in the National Assembly and candlelight rallies. And with grown interest, she decided to come to Korea with the desire to learn about the dynamic Korean politics.
I want to communicate with many people with the Korean language that I learned with such passion.
In order to come to Korea, she learned Korean for six months in Kenya. She prepared her study abroad in Korea by going to the King Sejong Institute that is located in the center of Kenya's capital city, Nairobi. To learn the Korean language quickly, she enjoyed watching Korean political dramas such as 'President' and 'Big Thing'. Such experience of studying Korean became the basis of her report, 'Impact of Korean Dramas on Foreign Students', which she wrote during the 'Reading and Writing' class last term.
In March 2013, she came to Korea and after one year internship at the Research Institute of Asian Women while studying Korean at our school's International Institute of Language Education, she finally began her first term as a political science and diplomacy student in 2014. She said, "Because I was able to study Korean and have real experience in my major during the first year in Korea, They became a big help for my major studies after the admission."
She was curious about life in Korea. She told me, "I am not used to eating spicy foods but I like Korean food." And her favorite Korean food is 'Labokki'. It’s one of her favorite menus she enjoys with her friends near the school after classes. She said it wasn't too difficult to adapt to Korean life because she really enjoys Korean food, and with a smile, she told me she had perfectly adapted to the winter weather which she never experienced in Kenya just after two years in Korea.
Mango usually reads books written in Korean during the weekends. She said she is studying her major and Korean every chance she gets by reading books because her Korean is not fluent yet. Also, she is learning sign language whenever she gets a chance during the weekends and said, "I began learning sign language because it is another language that I can communicate with people with disabilities." For a person who speaks a total of four languages including Kenya's official language Swahili as well as English, French and Korean, it was impressive to see her constantly striving to communicate with people even when she is living in a foreign country by herself.
I want to realize my dreams at Sookmyung through the Yang Chun Yeol Scholarship and give hope to the children in Kenya.
'Yang Chun Yeol Scholarship' played a big role in enabling Mango to attend our university. Yang Chun Yeol Scholarship is given to foreigners in the Third World countries who came to study abroad at our school, and the scholarship holds the hope of Yang Chun Yeol (Hwang Jemma, graduated in 1959 with a degree in home economics) who wanted to propagate Sookmyung's spirit of love and service around the world.
In 2007, alumna Yang Chun-yeol donated 2 million dollars to our university with the request to be used as an aid for international students from underdeveloped nations. Thanks to the donation from alumna Yang and others, students such as Mango and international students from South East Asia, Africa, South America, and others, are attending our school with the help from the Yang Chun Yeol Scholarship.
Lastly, I asked Mango about her dream. She wants to give hope to the children in Kenya as she is also able to study because of the help from many people. She revealed her plans by saying, "Learning opportunities for children in Kenya is difficult to come by because there still aren't enough educational facilities such as libraries and schools" and "I want to start a library construction project when I return to Kenya after graduation." As a believer of the expression 'Veritas Lux Mea (The truth is my light)', she put on a big smile and said, "I want to help the children in Kenya by building libraries so they will be able to read many books and have the chance to become great individuals."
In addition, she told me her aspirations to become a scholar of international political theory. She expressed her hopes of creating a political theory that can reduce the gap between the wealthy and the poor in the world as she said, "The African countries are under enormous debt to the West because they are only exporting primary resources.” I look forward to her active role as a messenger spreading Sookmyung's spirit of love and service on the world stage in the years to come.