Name: Namyi Kang
Class: 2015
Hometown: Seoul, Korea
High School: International School of Bangkok
Major: Math
How did you find out about Amherst? What influenced your decision to come here?
I read about Amherst in a book about top colleges in the United States once, and then eventually when I started researching colleges in America I was looking for schools with an open-curriculum and this was one of my top choices. I did a ton of research on each school that I applied to but what sealed the deal for me at Amherst was financial aid.
You call yourself 3rd culture kid. What does that mean?
There are different kinds of 3rd culture kids, for me it’s that I have a Korean passport, I have Korean parents but I’ve lived abroad half of my life and most of the time I spent in Korea was during my first ten years. It’s really weird because I identify with every place I’ve lived in but I feel like I don’t fully belong to any place, even Korea.
You travelled quite a bit this past summer. Where did you go and what did you do?
I went to South Africa for 2 months. I was working with an Amherst alum who is starting a school there. It’s called African School of Excellence. There were also two other people from Amherst with me. I was writing a computer program for the school to use for the first month or so, and then there was a 3 week pilot program where we ran a classroom program for kids in a township called Tsakane. We taught 6thgraders Math and English. I then went to India and I worked for a program that promotes mental healthcare by providing free mental treatment. I was there for a month and what I mainly did was interview the patients enquiring about their history and the treatment they were being given by this organization.
You’re currently taking Swahili right? How many languages do you speak?
I speak Korean, French, Japanese and survival Thai.
Do you know what you want to do with your Swahili?
I lived in Tanzania for a while, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to learn since I left Tanzania but I never had the chance to. I’m hoping to go back to East Africa soon; you don’t really need to it to get by but it helps.
If you could have one super power what would it be?
Probably teleporting because I travel a lot and I hate going through airport security.
Ideal date:
I don’t think I have an ideal date in mind, it just depends on the connection, doesn’t really matter what we do or where we are.
Dream job:
Ideally, I would love it if I could be in academia but also travel and live in different places.
Extra-curriculars:
I sing in women’s chorus, ISA, MRC and I am co-president for Link (Liberty in North Korea).
Craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Bartending in Cape Town my first night. My dream is to go skydiving though, so that will be the craziest thing I’ve ever done.