Researcher Identity Memo
There are two reasons of interest of the topic: international student success.
First I have personal experiences of being an international student. I
came to America for studying theology in 2001.
Despite deciding to study abroad with dreams of success, my actual
experiences of international student has not been easy. I had received some support from South Korea
in the beginning, but it ended after my father’s cancer treatment had begun
which lead to big financial pressure. I
had to find work desperately to support myself and my family. Even when there was a job, the pay was
insufficient (most available jobs were illegal employment due to my student
status). There were times when I could
not even attend classes because of work. With the rising financial burdens,
time constraints, and physical difficulties, the circumstances seemed to be
lead further and further away from a successful experience. At the same time, the concern for finding a
job after finishing school with a student visa was growing each day.
With many difficulties and hardships surrounding my international student’ life, I began to ponder and ask countless questions on what it means to be a successful international student. As I organized my thoughts, I realized that the real success was not dependent on any particular result. In other words, the typical idea of success as the world paints - such as achieving higher school grades and degree completing or high pay careers (like a medical doctor or lawyer) - may be a typical picture of success. On the basis of this stereotype of success, my experiences as an international student might be classified as a failure. However, I do not consider myself as someone who fails because there are something (a core of what it actually means to be successful) beyond the definition of international student success, which is prevalent in our society. That is why I am interested in this topic.
With many difficulties and hardships surrounding my international student’ life, I began to ponder and ask countless questions on what it means to be a successful international student. As I organized my thoughts, I realized that the real success was not dependent on any particular result. In other words, the typical idea of success as the world paints - such as achieving higher school grades and degree completing or high pay careers (like a medical doctor or lawyer) - may be a typical picture of success. On the basis of this stereotype of success, my experiences as an international student might be classified as a failure. However, I do not consider myself as someone who fails because there are something (a core of what it actually means to be successful) beyond the definition of international student success, which is prevalent in our society. That is why I am interested in this topic.
Second, I am now serving international student as an
international student and international educator. My previous personal
experiences could provide a unique contribution to study this topic because my
own experience as an international student will help me apprehend my
interviewees’ stories more vividly and sympathetically. My experiences also enable me have an inside
perspective and open up dialogue with the people closely. However, I should consciously bring my
awareness of the weakness regarding my personal experiences when I do the
research. Personal perceptions and emotion
formed by my personal experiences could project on the interviewees. The research eventually may be affected by my
biased. This is the reason why I have a
passion to engage in this topic to study personally and professionally.
Recently, living as an educator and international student myself, I got to meet
various international students. Some had
gone through difficult experiences filled with complaints. On the other hand, some were fighting through
the difficulties with a sense of motivation and a positive attitude. For those who are struggling in their life as
international students, I want to give them hope and strength for the future. Even at this moment, I wish to provide a
message of courage to the students struggling to give up. I also want to give encouragement to those
who are fighting through their journey to be successful students. This is the reason why I am interested in examining
into the topic of international student success.
