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Grad Student In Westchester Earns National Award To Teach In South Korea

A college student in Westchester is set to travel halfway around the world after receiving a prestigious award from the U.S. Department of State.

Eunice Yu.

Eunice Yu.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Eunice Yu, a graduate student at the College of New Rochelle, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Award to travel to South Korea as part of the English Teaching Assistant Program.

Yu, who will complete her master’s degree in Art Therapy and Counseling later this month, is one of 69 English Teaching Assistants that will be sent to South Korea by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She is one of nearly 2,000 Americans who will conduct research, teach English and provide expertise throughout the world during the next academic year.

Following a six-week orientation program, Yu will be assigned to a school in Changwon in southeast South Korea.

According to officials, as part of teaching English, Yu, who also holds a bachelor of fine arts in photography from Temple University, will encourage intercultural awareness with the integration of photography and art. While in South Korea, she will also pursue a personal documentary photography project, capturing the essence and culture of adolescents in South Korea as a way to understand their academic, mental and emotional development.

Upon completion of the program, Yu said that she plans to work as an art therapist with Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants in after-school settings.

“As a U.S. born Korean-American, I only have a rudimentary understanding of the Korean culture, such as their education, philosophy, customs, and traditions,” Yu said. “Most of what I know is assumed or researched, but not personally experienced. The (English Teaching Assistant Program) is an ideal opportunity to integrate into a Korean community, be a part of students’ academic and multi-cultural growth, and embrace their culture through firsthand experience.”

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