Name: Maria Katherine Moore
Graduation: 2018
Major: International Studies (East Asia concentration)

I think it's very interesting to experience different lifestyles and compare them to my own, so International Studies is a good way for me to explore this passion and turn it into a career. I hope to be able to continue to learn about the cultures I've grown to love, as well as explore new ones. Whether this is through an international business setting or one that could possibly involve the government, I have yet to decide. I hope to work either in South Korea or for an international company that has relations with South Korea. I think it would also be fun to teach English there or another option is to be a translator.

In my junior year of high school, I hosted a South Korean exchange student named Joy Kim. After spending the school year with her, her family invited a friend and I to stay with them for a month. During that time we travelled to many different areas to see historical regions such as Gyeongju and highly modernized cities like Seoul and Busan. In the historical areas, we visited museums, Buddhist temples, palaces and royal burial mounds for past kings. In the cities, we enjoyed going to restaurants, shopping areas and amusement parks. A particularly nice place we visited in Seoul was Lotte World, a giant indoor/outdoor amusement park in the middle of the city. I grew to love the lifestyle of the thriving cities, and my time there helped influence my decision for my major, concentration and decision to study Korean language.