All refreshed and new students at Kookmin University having a registration number ending in 12, will have a lot of questions on their minds after receiving their classes and trying to adapt to campus life for a week. It was seemed to be done everything by own wise as a university student. If you have some questions on your mind, and are unable to find the solution, just read the following articles and try to find the appropriate answers to your questions through the examples posted by your senior students.

Presenting at SAMSUNG TOMORROW COMMUNICATION MEMBERSHIP Program

Jin-ho Jeon (School of Communication) I want to talk to you about an uninteresting matter. Everybody will have difficulty adapting to the new environment. And what kind of situation you will face during your student life will vary according to your activities and thinking. That’s why it is better stay away from fear.

Whether you chose your way according to your will or depending on your grades, you have to keep a keen interest in the major that you have chosen. Every subject will have valuable meaning and goals. I did a double major in international affairs and advertising. It was really difficult to understand the content of political science at the beginning. But I knew that political science is the study of how to treat a person, and when I gave my keen interest to my major, I really fell into the depth of it because all the works in this universe are to be done by human beings together and for all.

It’s bad to leave a matter unsettled treating it as too difficult. I have registered for various subjects such as drama, physical education and so on. I’m thinking to extend my graduation because there are so many classes that I want to take. I recommend that you learn something after finding your will and interests, because such kind of experiences will be irreplaceable and invaluable assets to us.

(Left) MVP certification ceremony of AK Mall Supporters (Right) KT&G Social Welfare Foundation's overseas volunteer activities in Cambodia

Hee-jeong Lee (Department of Economics) The most important thing is your will and interest, to participate in some global activity. To get the title of “winner”, you have to pass through different stages such as the documentation and interview stages. Though you achieve success, you can’t always show and continue your performance in a proper way.

I would like to recommend to all new students an MVP activity to support AK water like what has been done in past. It was a professional type of activity where one could learn marketing processes because it was a teamwork event, and every step from initiation to implementation was done in the presence of a consultant. And these days, we are doing an activity of being a spokesperson for the Korean district heating constructions project. Although we have conducted only two projects, we are doing various activities which are appropriate for the role of each participant with huge support.

Also it will be a good experience to be involved in social groups such as Happy Move and G Market. It was really valuable and memorable for me, although I have already been involved in social work abroad. If you are interested in being involved in global activity abroad, I would like to recommend some of groups such as LG Global Challenger, Job Korea Global Frontier and Sungkok Global Ambassador, all conducted by our university. And last, it is not important what the value of program is for you but what is most important is that the activity is suitable for you and one where you can show your best.

Hye-mi Jang (School of Fine Arts) I also had planned to study hard to get a scholarship when I first applied to university. I had a difficult situation in losing control of myself when my senior got me to drink a lot at the first drinking party. That was not the student’s life, as I had imagined before. Then I decided to keep myself far from alcohol and concentrate only on my studies. It seemed like after completing my 1st semester, I felt alone. But my classmate, who had spend much more time with seniors in entertainment and seemed not to be sincere in his studies, got the better grade as well as a scholarship.

It was such a bad situation! Later I understood that the best way to get a good grade is to be far away from the stress of studies. It is a wonderful environment in drinking parties, isn’t it? It does not mean that we have to drink too much, even if we drink. We just need to adapt to the environment. And we have to show our polite rejection, if a senior student forces us to drink too much. That’s why I hope you will be one of the new students who can enjoy school life and studies in proper balance. Just try to do your best and show your strengths.

Ji-eun Lee (School of Public Administration & Public Policy) As a university student, you will certainly do some part-time work but you have to keep in mind that you are student. It is better to do a part-time job that can be good experience for you and can be done easily without hampering your studies and exams. I recommend working at a café to new students, who are going to have a part-time job for the first time in their lives. It would be better if the café were near your house. It is easy to work in a café and you can even work on weekends. Also you will have time to study and read some books during the off-season if it is a private café, not a chain store. Particularly, I would like to recommend working at a café to students who are interested in barista certification since you will have the chance to make money and prepare for your certification.

I have been working at a café near my house as a weekend part-time worker since last year. As a senior student, I strongly recommend to all junior students to get part time job in a café. Sometimes there may be some misunderstandings with customers in the café. But I’m working with high confidence because I can experience real society and will get money every month, even though it’s quite low.

Jong-ho Lee (Department of Sociology) I would like to give some tips to you as a senior having experienced a romantic relationship, although I don’t have much more experience than that. Actually I’m a bit shy to discuss this topic. I always try to be closer with the opposite sex, but I never thought that the guy would like me at the beginning. If you think like this, you will lose the chances to be near to the person whom you love so much. Keep in mind that not everyone can be involved as a campus couple.

First you have to be mentally strong. If you are not this type of person, then you can express your feelings to your partner carefully. Also it would be good to send small gifts or lovely messages so that your partner does not feel burdened. If you are new students, you will be close to your partner day by day and become impressed. As you know that the first impression is a lasting impression, so try to show your kind and helpful behavior by reserving a proper place for the special person in class and offering some warm coffee and so on. Although you may not have this kind of thinking, I wish all of you could experience a beautiful and romantic love relationship.