General Introduction	Public Speaking	Graduate Writing for Specific Purpose
The School I'm heading to... Target University and Community Information Host University Correspondence Web Page	Computer Training and Research Basics	Oral Skills and Lectures
Life at Monterey and MIIS                       Click Here	Graduate Life Skills	Final Reflection
My Home Country... KOREA and 2002 World Cup	Reserved for Later Use	Reserved for Later Use

Public Speaking

• Final Presentation:  "Internet Business Models and Supply Chain Management of ISP Industry"
• Commentary:  I felt quite confident in Public Speaking since I have been exposed to many seminars and international conferences.  When I was at the school in Korea, I had usually more than three chances per month to speak publicly: in lab. seminars or project team meetings or conferences.  However, after taking this course, I've changed my mind.  I recognized that I still have many things to do in order to enhance my presentation skills and mind set.  In particular, I was very lucky to share know-hows and experiences regarding American way of presentation, and also to learn creative presentation strategies from many students with good competencies in many aspects.  Absolutely, this program was not only a great opportunity but also a great pleasure to me.
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• Final Draft:  "Internet Business Models and Supply Chain Management of ISP Industry"
• Commentary:  It is American way of writing, in particular academic writing, that always makes me confused and embarrassed in writing papers.  This confusion comes from, I think, the different writing styles among different cultures; for example, American writers seem to prefer a simple and compact structure without lengthy explanation.  However, Graduate Writing class guided me to an exit from the chaos.  I could grasp some important features in academic writing in English.  Though I do not completely slip out of the chaos yet, I now have basic weapons to cope with the dilemma in writing: clarifying topic sentence(s), organizing supporting sentences, using appropriate transition signals and quotations, and so on.  Furthermore, I've come to strongly believe that practice is the most valuable thing in mastering American academic writing.

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• Library and Internet Scavenger Hunt:  some useful links
• Commentary:  The computer labs at MIIS are great though they close too early.  In particular, I love the KADE center because of its cozy atmosphere and kind staff; working in KADE center makes me feel as if I were working at my home.  As a matter of fact, the contents of Computer Training program were not new to me.  However, the program gave me not only a good experience to work with my colleagues but also a chance to complete my homepage which I had postponed due to the busy schedule in Korea.

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• Academic Note-taking Sills: an example
• Cultural Shocks
• American Politics
• Commentary:  I was not quite confident with English conversation.  So, I expected much stuff to learn from this class: for example, verbal communication techniques.  However, on the contrary to my expectation, the class concentrated on efficient listening and noting of lectures.  I think they are also good things that graduate students should develop during their academic carrier.  But it would have been much better if the class had provided intensive training program to help improve verbal communication skills.  For instance, I wanted to have more 'prompt presentation training' in the class.  This training helped me figure out one of the weakest points in my oral communication skill.  So, I expected that the training would be a great help in expressing myself in English.  However, it was provided only once.  Last but not the least, I respect passion and sincerity that professors have shown to us throughout the program.

 

 
 
 
 
 

The lectures were well-designed to achieve two objectives at the same time: not only to convey knowledge on interesting subjects such as cultural shocks and American political system but also to make students familiar with American lecture style.

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• How to Survive (ex. getting a shelter, personal security, etc...) in the U.S.?
• Commentary:  The Graduate Life Style class gave me a flavor about American philosophy on education, so-called pragmatism.  The knowledge that I learned from the practical activities was so real that it could be used immediately.  I enjoyed this kind of simulation practices and highly appreciate the course schedule and content.

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• 3 weeks in Monterey were absolutely one of the greatest time in my life.  I came to know that the world is much bigger than I thought and that we human beings are the same regardless of skin colors and diverse cultural backgrounds.  All the Fulbrighters from the various part of the world have taught me a lot of things.  I came to love multi-ethnic environment.

• I'd like to close the reflection with a maxim that I like the most.  "All acquisition of knowledge is an enlargement of the SELF, but this enlargement is best attained when it is not directly sought (B. Russell, 'On Problem of Philosophy')".  I hope that studying in the States would enable me to gain as much knowledge as I can, and to enlarge myself as much as possible....

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