Aaron Chung
Office of LA City Councilmember David Ryu |
Having worked at both government and non-profit offices this summer, I had the opportunity to engage in a wide range of experiences. Despite the varying duties and responsibilities that came with each job, the common theme that connected each of these experiences was the notion of working as a public servant. Whether I was addressing constituent concerns in Councilmember Ryu's office or helping elderly individuals complete voter registration forms, my work was centered on public service and ensuring that people's voices were heard. These experiences informed not only my career interests, but also my long-term goals in life. Having completed my internships, I feel more confident and assured that I am working towards becoming who I want to be.
American University '19 |
Bohesa Won
Office of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti |
My 2015 summer internship at the Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Public Engagement was an invaluable first-hand look into the daily operations of local government and the processes involved in constituent outreach. Prior to the summer internship program, I had very little exposure to the responsibilities of local government offices and knew even less about the coordination of communication between the communities of Los Angeles and the Mayor himself. However, spending my summer at the Mayor's office allowed me to understand both the structure of City Hall (with its various departments, deputy mayors, and councilmembers) and provided me with an in-depth understanding of the structure of representation within a city as diverse as Los Angeles. As I worked on special projects with the city's Area Representatives, all of whom represent six areas of the city (Central LA, West LA, Eastside, South LA, the Valley, and the Harbor), I realized how vital it is to maintain dialogue between the communities of the city--all of which face unique problems respective to their region--and the government that represents them. Towards the end of the internship, I was also able to personally assist the director of the city's International Relations Department and gain an incredible learning experience regarding the city's diplomatic protocol and the logistics of being the Mayor's liaison to the diplomatic community.
Georgetown University '19 |
Christine Ku
Open Bank |
This summer, I got an opportunity to work at a growing commercial bank called Open Bank. I was able to learn more bank terminologies and do hands on work with customers' checks and accounts. Because the bank is Korean, I also got the unique experience of dealing with bank operations and customers in both English and Korean. The internship allowed me to experience, for the first time, what working at a corporate setting would feel like. I also learned leadership skills from department managers whom I was working under and I enjoyed being able to work not only for one department but several others such as Note, SBA, MIS, and Operation Admin. I hope to utilize the skills I acquired through this internship to further develop myself in my future endeavors and jobs.
Emory University '19 |
Edward Kang
Open Bank |
Through KAC’s Summer College Internship Program, I was fortunate enough to land an internship at the Open Bank headquarters in Downtown LA. At Open Bank, I was able to observe how a bank was run at the corporate level. I was simply amazed with how smoothly everything had to run for the bank to stay operating. Through great tutelage from supervisors and other superiors, I was able to quickly adapt to the corporation’s game plan and work efficiently alongside my fellow intern friend. Open Bank decided this past summer that they wanted to digitize all their paperwork and as a result, my fellow intern and I were the pioneers leading the way with our diligent scanning. I feel honored that I can proudly say that I played a pivotal role in moving towards the bank’s short term goals and the experience was truly remarkable. I hope that I have represented KAC in a good light and have made a lasting impact on the bank, so that future interns at KAC can have the opportunity to work at Open Bank.
University of California, Riverside '17 |
Hankyul Lee
Korea Daily |
From the moment I walked onto the third floor newsroom at the Korea Daily, I fell head over heels at the thought of spending the rest of my summer learning at a major newspaper in downtown Los Angeles. Interning at the Korea Daily has provided me with endless opportunities from translating articles to interviewing public personas and publishing original online content. Being surrounded by editors passionate about producing valuable content for others further enhanced my vision to inclusively tell the stories of others to the highest degree possible. Through interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds than myself, I learned the value, invigoration, and humor that come out of creating relationships with diverse people and gleaning from them a fuller picture of life. My experience at the Korea Daily has encouraged me to pursue journalism as a form of activism and a voice into important matters.
Azusa Pacific University '19 |
Janet Kang
Office of LA City Councilmember David Ryu |
During this summer, I divided my time at the Korean-American Coalition and the office of the Councilmember for City District 4, David Ryu’s office. I partook in community events, U.S. Census data collection, voter registration drives, and had the opportunity to visit the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors. I met the do-ers, or the people who worked to educate and make things happen in and out of the office. Surrounding myself with these individuals allowed me to witness the importance of being cognizant of community history and social issues in order to better understand our purpose and direction in serving others.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign '17 |
Jennifer Eo
RushOrder |
My internship experience at Rushorder has been one that provided valuable insight in a real work environment. Despite the fact that it was my first time working full time, the steep learning curve at the food delivery app start up maximized my skill set as well as allowed me to truly push myself to the limit of my capabilities. I also had the chance to interact with fellow interns and network with the other employees which was both enjoyable and invaluable. Overall, it was an important experience in the workforce that I will definitely be applying in my future career path.
University of California, San Diego '17 |
Joshua Choi
Office of Assemblymember Miguel Santiago |
Having the opportunity to spend my summer at the office of Assemblymember Miguel Santiago through the KAC Summer College Internship Program has been an invaluable experience. At the office I was able to work directly with constituents, organize events, and gain skills that would not have been available to me otherwise. Before this internship, I understood the importance of the government and the roles that it plays, but to actively engage with it was a foreign concept. I thought I knew about different struggles in the community, but the Exide lead crisis, severity of the lack of affordable housing, and several of the issues that constituents may face in their daily lives were completely new to me. I felt as if I understood the Los Angeles community, only to be shown how naive I really was. Serving the public through this internship has taught me to become more cognizant of the community and ultimately allowed me to gain a better understanding of myself, career path, and the importance of civic engagement.
Crescenta Valley High School '17 |
Kellie Chong
Office of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti |
My summer internship through KAC was the most insightful experience I have had yet. With the ability of KAC being able to connect their SCIP attendees, even the attendee that came all the way from Alaska (myself), they definitely provided an amazing opportunity for me to be able to gain insight about my future interests, career paths, and most importantly, about myself personally. Through my internship at the LA Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement, I was able to learn a lot about local level community engagement, outreach, and perspectives from both public service workers and as active citizens. Most importantly however, was the fact that experiencing the real work environment for one of my future career interests helped not only determine which kind of work I would be more interested in in politics, but how I myself would fit, adapt, and adjust to the professional dynamic; whether it would be confirming that I can handle that kind of work environment, or whether it would be realizing that I would face possible internal difficulties if I were to work in that kind of circumstance in the future. One of the greatest take aways about interning anywhere, is the certainty that we will learn even more about ourselves which only helps us be more prepared for our futures.
George Mason University '19 |
Michelle Lee
Office of Assemblymember Young Kim |
My internships took place at the Republican campaign & district offices in Orange County. Every Monday, I would head to the district office, and work under Linette Choi (Senior Field Representative), and Kristy MacDougall (District Director). During my time there, I mostly worked on organizing newspaper clippings that contained information regarding Assemblywoman Young Kim. Then from Tuesdays to Thursdays, I worked in the campaign office. I was given the task of calling multitudes of possible voters each day; I had to ask short surveys regarding which candidates they would vote for, and which laws they prioritized.
Because of the nature of this internship, I was able to acquire two vital qualities: patience and perception. I was a Democrat who had to work hours in a Republican government office. I had to learn to work with a plethora of people whose visions and ideals different drastically from mine. As I made phone calls, I encountered various types of people – those who were impatient, kind, rude, brief. Because of the difference in what we believed in, I had to mature in my patience and my open-mindedness, my ability to accept and overcome our barriers. This internship not only provided me with a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but also a chance to develop as a person. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign '20 |
Narin Chung
Korean American Family Services (KFAM) |
Interning at Korean American Family Services was an experience that I didn’t expect. I expected to have a lot of interactions with clients and work more outside of the office, but instead, I cross-checked documents, attended several meetings with my executive director learning more about issues in the Asian American community, and worked mostly with paperwork. Even though it completely shattered my expectations, I am grateful for the experience because I learned a lot about the work that goes behind the programs that happen and how much effort people put in so the programs could go as smoothly as possible.
Although I was also the only intern at the time, my co-workers treated me with the same respect as they treated everyone else and made me feel like a part of the KFAM family. In addition, I personally experienced what it was like to have a full-time job, working from 10-6 every day. It was a truly memorable experience and I learned a lot from it. University of California, Irvine '19 |
Sophia Shin
Moon & Dorsett, PC |
My second year as an intern with the Korean American Coalition expanded my fresh-out-of-college world by introducing me to the professional environment. For the Summer College Internship Program this year, I worked with a law firm in downtown Los Angeles called Moon & Dorsett, PC. During the course of the summer, I had the chance to immerse myself in a legal setting, meeting professionals in the legal field and finding out what working in civil litigation looks like. Not only have I been able to gain some practical experience as a legal intern, but I have also had the opportunity to learn from those who have experience and the generosity to share that experience with me.
Grinnell College '16 |
Susan Joh
GibLib |
Knowing that KAC’s main goal is to promote the civic and civil rights interests of Korean Americans, yet personally having interest in art/design and medicine, I did not know what to expect for my internship placement. However, I was grateful and enthralled to have been placed into a start-up that matched both my interests; I was placed into GIBLIB, which aims to allow surgeons and surgical institutions educate other surgeons and students around the world by sharing purely surgical videos and lectures on GIBLIB’s website. My internship experience went above and beyond what I hoped it would be. Not only did I gain experience in both web design and medicine, but I also learned about start-ups and the importance of social media, business and marketing decisions, and connections.
Washington University in St. Louis '19 |
Yeon Su Kim
Fading Away, LLC |
Through my internship, I was able to assist and observe the pre-production process of an upcoming project by award-winning documentary filmmaker/producer, Christopher H.K. Lee. As my professional interests lie in creating visual media, this internship allowed me to familiarize and gain an introduction to this particular field. Not only did I have the opportunity to work on the project, but I also had the opportunity to write for Christopher H.K. Lee's magazine, FAME'US Magazine. As an associate writer, I interviewed and wrote accompanying articles on artists in the entertainment field. This internship opened my eyes to what might be expected of me as a professional specializing in visual media.
New York University '19 |