Mom. Dad. It's me, Na-rae. It has already been a year since I left you, and I'm sorry that I have not contacted you while spending time with my friends in Gwangju. Both of you must have worried because this is the first time I am staying outside home. But with this letter, I will try to tell you what happened during the past year.

Before I became a college student, I thought I would live with you forever, but I never thought I would live so far away from you. Because I haven’t done much chores in my life, I realized that I knew nothing when I tried to do the laundry by myself in the laundry room. I was as worried as you, mom, about living in a dorm, but I think I stayed healthier than I thought. Of course, during the exam period, the days and the nights were not separated from each other while I was studying. I thought there were not many dishes that I could cook, but I have been eating well like making fried rice with friends and roasting meat in the dorm kitchen. I did eat more in a restaurant instead of cooking meals in the kitchen, but because we have the kitchen, I often think that someday I will be able to cook a nice meal. The dorm room is so comfortable that it feels like another home. There were times when I feel awkward to leave this place to see you guys at home. It's not a private room, but it was great to spend time with my roommate, study, and share those little things that happened during the day before going to bed about experiences I couldn't have at home. Something I regret is that there was a gym inside the dormitory and a swimming pool nearby, but I didn’t use them often. I will try to use them more from the next semester.

Building relationships with new people in a place I have never been took a huge effort. But fortunately, I think I could make unforgettable memories with people who are nicer than me. Even when I came to school early, I was more worried than excited, thinking that I might not be able to adjust, but I became close to my classmates I met at the freshman orientation camp, and I stick around them all year round, telling myself, ‘If I didn’t come to GIST, I would not have made these friends.’ Of course, I was not always happy when I was with them, but I think I became more mature while arguing with them and also trying to understand each other. Because I am with people around me who are more than I deserve, I desire to become a better person, and as you, Dad, always said, I want to become a person who is kind to others around me without wanting anything from them.
Lastly, I will call you more often from now on. Love always you and thank you.

Cheers
- Na-rae

First, GIST offers students full academic support. In the first year, students are admitted to the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences to develop basic skills before learning advanced major subjects and to also build up knowledge in various fields through a variety of liberal arts classes. Because you told me that I did not have to decide a major then and can choose it after entering the college, I could have the whole year to think about different majors and choose the major I wanted in the second year. GIST also has the advantage that all students can choose the major that they want as it does not limit the number of students in selecting their major. In fact, I realized after I came to college that it was not easy to choose a major based on the experience that a high school student has. If you know a student having trouble in deciding a major, it would be nice to tell him or her about my experience.

Second, GIST offers a variety of overseas exchange programs. I have also participated in a few programs, and I am planning to apply for other programs. Last summer, I did my summer semester program at Boston University. I had new experiences by taking classes, giving presentations, and taking exams with foreign friends at an American university. Also, GIST operates the Study Abroad Program (SAP) for junior and seniors. Through the program students can attend a semester as exchange students at the University of California at Berkeley. As the short experience I had as an exchange student during the summer semester last year was impressive, I am planning to apply for SAP to do another semester next year. GIST provides not only overseas educational opportunities but also research opportunities, and it offers the opportunity to participate in the Caltech-Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Caltech-SURF) program offered by California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Caltech-SURF is a program that carries out a research project in a desired laboratory for 10 weeks under the guidance of a Caltech mentor professor. GIST also provides the opportunity to receive science and engineering education as well as the opportunity to take overseas start-up education. Students can participate in the start-up classes and various start-up programs at Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The advantage is that the student can receive education related to a major subject as well as the education on research skills and even on start-ups.

Finally, GIST respects students' freedom. GIST operates the 'Infinite Challenge Project,' which encourages students to do things other than studying. The theme of the Infinite Challenge Project is quite diverse, including baking, busking, play-acting, and promoting exchanges with foreign graduate students. Many friends of mine also participated in the Infinite Challenge Project. This project seems to help students develop creativity and problem-solving skills and to become unafraid of challenges. GIST also supports start-ups. There are also students who have actually started a business after participating in a variety of start-up trainings, start-up projects, and start-up contests. The advantage of GIST is that it supports students to have a variety of experiences so that they can find what they really want to do. I am really satisfied with the decision I made with you, and I wrote this letter in the hope that more students see the advantages of GIST and apply. I will visit you at the school soon. Thank you.

Sincerely
- Ji-na Kim

CEO ○○○ of ◇◇◇◇. Hello. My name is Ji-on Kim, a student at GIST. I have been interested in talking to you, and I am writing a letter this time to introduce myself to you.
During the summer vacation in my second year, I took a summer semester at an overseas university with support from GIST for tuition and dormitory expenses. I could apply for the summer semester at distinguished universities abroad such as the University of California at Berkeley, Boston University, and the University of Cambridge, and I decided to take the summer semester at UC Berkeley. Like GIST, lectures were given in English, but unlike GIST, where each year consists of 200 students in 7 majors, UC Berkeley was a huge university, and I could have different experiences from GIST.

With the experience of taking the summer semester at UC Berkeley, I also applied for the Study Abroad Program (SAP). SAP is GIST's student exchange program where a student can complete a regular semester at UC Berkeley or Caltech. Unlike the summer semester program at overseas universities, a smaller number of GIST students participated for a longer period, and I could do things that I could not during the summer semester. Especially, the experience of interacting with local graduate students and teachers more actively will remain in my memory for a long time.

Meanwhile, during my third year, I participated in GIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (G-SURF) program to develop my research capabilities. G-SURF is a program designed to intensify research capabilities of GIST's undergraduate students and was developed based on the SURF program of Caltech (California Institute of Technology). G-SURF matches an advisor to an undergraduate student to study the same topic in the advisor’s lab during the summer vacation, which is about two months long.

While participating in G-SURF, I attended the lab and learned about the things I could not learn from the lectures during regular semesters such as experimental techniques. Also, I learned how to write researchrelated documents by writing research proposals and research reports. At the end of the program, we presented our research with a poster and listened to the research outcomes presented by other G-SURF participants.

Lastly, I would like to tell you about the activities of GIST's student public relations ambassadors, GION NARAE, which became an indispensable part of my campus life. While studying at GIST, I received a variety of academic supports from the school, including an English clinic and TA hours. Also, I felt the urge to tell others about GIST while participating in various activities such as club activities and infinite challenge activities, and I applied to GION NARAE, which means to ‘tell the world about GIST,’ and became a student ambassador for GIST.