Kaitlin Acton, a fourth-year international studies major, has been selected to receive a Critical Language Scholarship to study intensive Korean for summer 2019. Kaitlin, who is also finishing a major in Korean, will be spending two months in Gwangju, Korea studying at Chonnam University. Below is her essay, which details the significance of this experience and award. Congratulations, Kaitlin!

“Ever since I was a small girl, my passion for education and academia was surprisingly strong. Given that none of my immediate family members had this zeal for education, it was an unlikely situation. My mother dropped out of high school at the age of 17 when she became pregnant with me and my father never felt inspired enough to make it past the first semester of community college. This was not a rare sight in our family and the struggle brought on by our lower socio-economic status is what inspired me most. If nothing else, I could control my education. Growing up, I loved studying and learning new things. While all of my friends would play games all day, I would be perfectly content amidst a pile of books and papers in the middle of my bedroom floor.

This love for learning only increased as I entered university. The deeper I got into my Korean and East Asian Studies majors, the more I fell in love with my field. I especially loved relaying knowledge about East Asia to others. I learned that the greatest joy is not in learning and taking knowledge, but in helping someone else learn and giving knowledge. A lightbulb went off. From that moment I decided I wanted to make an impact on my field by becoming a researcher and educator of East Asian Studies. After years of debating on foreign language interpretation or Foreign Service and never feeling like either of those were my calling, I finally felt complete.

My goal is to become an expert in Korean/East Asian issues so that I can share this knowledge with others. Being able to communicate about these things with Korean people in their language will provide me with a clearer, deeper understanding which I will be able to provide to my future students and fellow colleagues.

In terms of timing, I have studied Korean for nearly 4 years now and I am at a critical point in my journey with the language. It is time to take my skills to the next level and obtain fluency before going to receive my doctoral degree. Given that I am on the cusp of graduating with a Bachelor's Degree, I need to keep the momentum toward fluency going. Also, in order to broaden my understanding of Korean society, it is important to explore areas of Korea outside of the metropolis of Seoul.

The CLS program offers an intensive language environment in a place other than Seoul. In order to achieve my goals quickly and efficiently, there is no better option than this program.

There are far less women from the southern or Appalachian regions of America focused on Korea and even fewer people and scholars focused on gender and sexuality issues in Korea. I am a critical asset to infant research prospects and interests in Korean studies. I am a future female professor inspired to revolutionize academia around Korea as well as Korean major programs in the USA.”