Special bonds with Korea have helped two students from around the world to see their life goals -- to become educators -- come true with diplomas from Korea.
The first-ever female Cambodian Ph.D. holder in mathematics has now graduated from a Korean university.
Chan Sony, 40, from Cambodia, has finished her doctorate course in math at Sogang University after eight years, becoming the first Cambodian woman with a Ph.D. in the field.
Chan was born to a father who worked in orange, banana and sugar cane farming, and to a mother who ran a small store, both in Battambang, a rural area about 300 kilometers from the capital Phnom Penh. She was the oldest of five siblings. She often tended the mother’s store, calculating the daily income and items from the stock list. The daily calculations led her to get to know what mathematics was all about. She graduated summa cum laude in math from the Royal University of Phnom Penh. After graduation, Chan returned to her hometown and started teaching math to high school students for seven years.
One day, she was told that her alma mater would create a new master’s degree program in mathematics. The news inspired her to resume her studies. Her ties with Korea came when she met Professor Ashley Evans at her university. The professor, who was quite impressed by the way she studied hard, recommended her for a full scholarship for both a master’s and a doctorate in mathematics at Sogang University.
In 2009, Chan embarked on her journey. What made her life in Seoul difficult was that she sometimes longed for her family back home. “I could get back to Cambodia only four times over eight years. Whenever I felt like I was giving up and had to go back to my family, I could change my mind thanks to the encouragement and sometimes harsh words from my professors,” she reminisced. Chan didn’t have enough money at that time, as she had to rely only on a scholarship for her living expenses.
Over the past eight years she has gritted her teeth to endure and it has all paid off when she was appointed as a math professor at her alma mater. She will start teaching in September.
“I’d like to write textbooks so that people from minority groups and, especially, women from across Cambodia can learn math more easily and more interestingly. The day will come, I'm sure, when grown children will be able to enjoy a better education,” Chan said.
Similarly, a British man has now graduated with top honors from a Korean business school. “I’d like to create a new educational brand with my name.”
Jack Webster is a 30-year-old British man who graduated top-of-his-class in business administration from Dongguk University on Aug. 25. He entered the program in 2012 and earned a GPA of 4.4 out of 4.5 throughout his four years of classes, putting his name at the top of the graduates list.
His first encounter with Korea dates back to 2009 when he met some real Korean people -- travelers and people working for local businesses -- during a trip to Australia. Soon after, he fell in love with the nation. “It’s like being sucked down into a whirlpool of charms that this small Asian country holds,” he said.
In January 2010, Webster bought a one-way ticket to Korea, packed his things and left. The first thing he did was to sign up for Korean language classes. His life in a strange country far away from home was not that easy. He had to stay in tiny, less-ventilated accommodations designed for poor students, known as gositel (고시텔). However, a clear goal emerged deep in his heart: to start a business related to English teaching.
The young British man applied for entrance to Dongguk University, as he wanted to obtain skills related to startups and also wanted to enjoy college life, which had been cut short in his homeland. Luckily, he was admitted to the department of business administration in 2012. Having many Korean students around him who all studied very hard, it gave him the stimulus to study harder. “It was sort of a shock to see so many students staying at cafés and focusing on their studies for so many hours,” said Webster. “I was pretty inspired when I saw my friends burning the midnight oil for so many days before every exam.”
He is currently readying his new business based on the business administration knowledge and skills he picked up over the past few years. Hopefully, his business will make up for the existing problems that exist in the English education field here in Korea.
Finally, he's not a beginner teacher. He was a professional golfer for eight years and then worked as a golf coach for three years. “As I taught golf for a few years in Britain, I know I love teaching and I'm sure I will be good at it,” he smiled.
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Sogang University, Dongguk University
jiae5853@korea.kr
The first-ever female Cambodian Ph.D. holder in mathematics has now graduated from a Korean university.
Chan Sony, 40, from Cambodia, has finished her doctorate course in math at Sogang University after eight years, becoming the first Cambodian woman with a Ph.D. in the field.
Chan Sony (center) poses for a photo with her parents who flew in from Cambodia to attend her graduation ceremony at Sogang University on Aug. 18.
Chan was born to a father who worked in orange, banana and sugar cane farming, and to a mother who ran a small store, both in Battambang, a rural area about 300 kilometers from the capital Phnom Penh. She was the oldest of five siblings. She often tended the mother’s store, calculating the daily income and items from the stock list. The daily calculations led her to get to know what mathematics was all about. She graduated summa cum laude in math from the Royal University of Phnom Penh. After graduation, Chan returned to her hometown and started teaching math to high school students for seven years.
One day, she was told that her alma mater would create a new master’s degree program in mathematics. The news inspired her to resume her studies. Her ties with Korea came when she met Professor Ashley Evans at her university. The professor, who was quite impressed by the way she studied hard, recommended her for a full scholarship for both a master’s and a doctorate in mathematics at Sogang University.
In 2009, Chan embarked on her journey. What made her life in Seoul difficult was that she sometimes longed for her family back home. “I could get back to Cambodia only four times over eight years. Whenever I felt like I was giving up and had to go back to my family, I could change my mind thanks to the encouragement and sometimes harsh words from my professors,” she reminisced. Chan didn’t have enough money at that time, as she had to rely only on a scholarship for her living expenses.
Over the past eight years she has gritted her teeth to endure and it has all paid off when she was appointed as a math professor at her alma mater. She will start teaching in September.
“I’d like to write textbooks so that people from minority groups and, especially, women from across Cambodia can learn math more easily and more interestingly. The day will come, I'm sure, when grown children will be able to enjoy a better education,” Chan said.
Similarly, a British man has now graduated with top honors from a Korean business school. “I’d like to create a new educational brand with my name.”
Jack Webster is a 30-year-old British man who graduated top-of-his-class in business administration from Dongguk University on Aug. 25. He entered the program in 2012 and earned a GPA of 4.4 out of 4.5 throughout his four years of classes, putting his name at the top of the graduates list.
Jack Webster from the U.K. graduated summa cum laude in business administration from Dongguk University.
His first encounter with Korea dates back to 2009 when he met some real Korean people -- travelers and people working for local businesses -- during a trip to Australia. Soon after, he fell in love with the nation. “It’s like being sucked down into a whirlpool of charms that this small Asian country holds,” he said.
In January 2010, Webster bought a one-way ticket to Korea, packed his things and left. The first thing he did was to sign up for Korean language classes. His life in a strange country far away from home was not that easy. He had to stay in tiny, less-ventilated accommodations designed for poor students, known as gositel (고시텔). However, a clear goal emerged deep in his heart: to start a business related to English teaching.
The young British man applied for entrance to Dongguk University, as he wanted to obtain skills related to startups and also wanted to enjoy college life, which had been cut short in his homeland. Luckily, he was admitted to the department of business administration in 2012. Having many Korean students around him who all studied very hard, it gave him the stimulus to study harder. “It was sort of a shock to see so many students staying at cafés and focusing on their studies for so many hours,” said Webster. “I was pretty inspired when I saw my friends burning the midnight oil for so many days before every exam.”
He is currently readying his new business based on the business administration knowledge and skills he picked up over the past few years. Hopefully, his business will make up for the existing problems that exist in the English education field here in Korea.
Finally, he's not a beginner teacher. He was a professional golfer for eight years and then worked as a golf coach for three years. “As I taught golf for a few years in Britain, I know I love teaching and I'm sure I will be good at it,” he smiled.
By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Sogang University, Dongguk University
jiae5853@korea.kr
Most popular
- Military discharge sets stage for reunion of all 7 BTS members
- BTS to mark 12th anniversary of debut with 2-week festival
- Lee Jae-myung officially sworn in as nation's 21st president
- Presidents Lee, Trump discuss tariff deal in first phone talks
- President's 1st executive order is launch of economic task force
