안녕하세요 (Annyeonghaseyo)! Hello, welcome to my blog!

My name is Mya and I am so excited to be participating in the International Internship Program this summer. I am originally from Reading, Pennsylvania and am a rising senior at the University of Pittsburgh. I study at in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, pursuing a B.A. in Linguistics with minors in Korean language and Film and Media Studies, as well as an Asian Studies Certificate. As a student of the Asian Studies Certificate Program, I have engaged a lot with language, cultural education, and international experiences. My studies also reflect my interest in my personal life which fall within different entertainment mediums such as international film and music. As a Linguistics student, I have concentrated on courses that pertain to Asia and Korean language as well. I have taken a wide variety of different linguistics courses during my time at Pitt and found that my main areas of interest lie in the realms of cross-cultural communication and sociolinguistics. While learning about how aspects of culture interact with language and play a role in shaping each other, I have explored the implications of cross-cultural communication differences and how essential ideological awareness and situational sensitivity is for cultural contact. These types of courses, as paired with different cultural teachings, have played a huge role in preparing me for living or working in situations that serve as an interface between two or more cultural groups. The three years of Korean language classes I have taken so far also serves as a tool for understanding, not only the structure of the language, but also dialect and situational communication as it pertains to the respect-oriented culture in Korea more broadly. 

I have always been very interested in global experiences and international cultures and customs. Outside of the classroom, I have had the opportunity to interact with students from Japan and South Korea as a conversational buddy through the English Language Institute to promote multicultural understanding and for both of us to become knowledgeable and appreciative of the different customs in each country. I have also previously participated in a semester abroad in South Korea where I attended Korea University in the spring of 2024. This experience provided me with the opportunity to experience, first-hand, a new culture as well as acclimate myself to the hustle and bustle of Seoul city life—an experience that has made a huge impact on my future career aspirations and general day-to-day motivations. It was a very informative and fulfilling global experience because it placed me in a space that I have been learning about and engaging with from the U.S. through university courses, international interactions, and language study.

With all of my personal and academic interests and experiences, I plan to pursue a career in U.S.–global relations as it promotes multicultural understanding and policy. This knowledge and involvement I have with Asian Studies has inspired me to study at the graduate level. While using my knowledge of linguistics and Korean, I plan to pursue advanced study in the world of International Development. Having the chance to go abroad and experience living in a culture very different from my own influences me to continue my education and hope to pursue a role in such foreign service. I hope to be a part of the process for improving intercultural awareness for foreign cultures and communities, as well as strengthening relationships between the U.S. and other nations. 

The International Internship Program I chose to participate is in Seoul. I choose to return to Korea for an internship experience because Seoul is a valuable hub of hard working companies and a place that is able to provide me with the most meaningful and fulfilling work experience as it connects to my academic background. For my upcoming internship, I am placed with a company that specializes in facilitating overseas volunteering, internship, employment, working holiday, international exchange, and NGO activity opportunities with hundreds of organizations abroad for Korean students and graduates. The company, Korea Volunteer Agency (KVA), is involved in the industry that promotes and supports international and cross-cultural engagement to provide opportunities that can refine the participants’ professional skills, aid in the development of global competency, and help them become private diplomats that promote Korean culture and values around the world. As South Korea continues to grow as a tourist destination and be recognized for its rich cultural heritage, helping Korean citizens participate in cultural exchange in the western world is a valuable aspect of cross-cultural engagement, understanding, and appreciation. Having the chance to be on the other side of assisting in international experience programming, I see this global opportunity as a way to expand my professional identity as someone who wants to support cultural understanding, utilize my international perspective in a global space, and continue to be a bridge between cultures.