Name: Jin Yun
Year: Sophomore
Major: Biology
Hometown: Aberdeen, WA
What has been your favorite experience about UP so far and what did you like about it?
Studying abroad in Salzburg over the summer has definitely been my favorite experience at UP so far. I had never been to Europe before, so getting to go to all the places that I’ve dreamed of going to was amazing.
What was your favorite place to visit in Europe?
I really liked Prague, but I think Budapest was my favorite. It was just so different than what we are used to in the U.S. The whole city is filled with history and it was beautiful everywhere we looked. I loved Heroes Square because we got there when it was getting darker and all of the streetlights had just turned on so the entire square was light up. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.
Do you think studying abroad is a valuable experience for students?
Definitely! It was really great being able to go on a program that was Biology based because we not only got to hit up the nerdy science museums, but we also were able to travel around as well. There are so many great science, specifically anatomical museums, in Europe that we were able to visit that went perfectly with the anatomy class that most of us were taking. We don’t have many of those in the US and being able to visit those museums was a once in a lifetime experience.
You said that you had never been to Europe before this summer, but have you traveled anywhere else in the world?
Yeah! I’ve been to South Korea, Canada, Mexico and I went to Nicaragua for three weeks with an organization called Visions my junior year of high school.
Will you tell me more about that experience?
Sure! While I was in Nicaragua, my group and I helped build a house for a single mother and her children, tutored kids in English and dug ditches for a water canal system.
My most vivid memory from the trip is of this little boy that we met down there that asked us if we brushed our teeth everyday. Of course we were like, “Yes! Absolutely! We brush our teeth everyday because good oral health is really important to your overall health…” and we explained to him all of these reasons why you needed to brush your teeth everyday. It was one of those eye-opening experiences because he told us about how he couldn’t brush his teeth because he didn’t have a toothbrush or toothpaste or a lot of other things that most of us don’t even think about not having. It made me realize that, hopefully, when I get older I can go back to the town I was at and start a foundation for public health and education and intertwine the two together.
That’s so amazing and inspiring! Do you think UP will help you ultimately reach that goal?
I hope so! UP has been great because you can tell that the professors really want you to succeed and they are so willing to work with you in office hours or even just to chat and give advice about what you should do after graduation. You don’t get that one-on-one attention at other schools!
Now just for fun, what’s a random fact that not many people know about you?
I was born in Alaska!