Ji Youn Kim can be considered a campus superwoman. Kim, who is currently majoring in Integrated Science (combined major of physiology and kinesiology), is involved with a number of causes and groups at UBC.
Not only does Kim have classes to manage, but she also sits on the SUS (Science Undergrad Society) Council as a General officer and the University and External Relations Committee of the Alma Mater Society as a member-at-large. Besides being involved in student government, Ji Youn volunteers her time as an outreach worker at the UBC Sexual Assault Support Center and she is the co-founder of an AMS club called Beneath One Sky UBC. The club aims to support the local homeless in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
With so many things on her plate, it is amazing that Ji Youn has a minute to even relax. However, her desire to help others motivates her.
“ I believe in the power of an individual,” she says. “ As a cis-gendered, heterosexual, economically privileged individual, I strive to be a supporting ally of oppressed or underprivileged groups of people within my community. I also believe that students should take advantage of our democratic freedom to express how we want to shape our education both academically and non-academically during our time at UBC. I love science, but involvement is my true passion.”
When it comes to balancing school with other projects, Ji Youn admits that, making time and prioritizing is a skill that she is still trying to work on. However, she says that “if President Obama can find the time to work out every day, [she] can find the time to give back to [her] community while maintaining [her] personal priorities as well.”
In terms of her work with helping the homeless, Ji Youn explains that Beneath One Sky UBC is part of a larger organization called, “Beneath One Sky.” She and two of her friends wanted to get students on campus involved with the cause of helping those less fortunate, so they decided to open up a chapter at UBC.
Each month, members of the club go down to the East Hastings area to hand out food, clothing and other personal necessities to Vancouver’s most marginalized and impoverished community. At times, Beneath One Sky UBC is critiqued about how their work is not helping to solve the larger issues of poverty. Ji Youn realizes that poverty is a systematic problem and she certainly does not over look the importance of organizations that are working to solve the systematic inequalities associated with homelessness. The goal of Beneath One Sky UBC is to provide immediate care to those living on the streets. “The truth is that these people need food NOW and they need warm clothes NOW. We do our part by addressing the issue of poverty in a different way,” she says.
Ji Youn’s future certainly looks bright. She aims to keep on contributing to the SUS in order to improve the lives of science undergrad students. She wants to do more learning and work involving sexual assault survivors and oppressed groups. For Beneath One Sky UBC, she and her team hope to expand the club over the next few years so that the can take on more projects to help those in need.
For Ji Youn, involvement also leads to making connections with other students. “I learn different types of intellect and meet so many people who are passionate about a variety of things,” she explains.
Her advice to other students looking to give back and get involved at UBC is simple – “be active and jump into things. Let others inspire you. Let your curiosity grow and your actions grow even larger. In a school of thousands of people, it’s easy for students to just feel so small. But small changes still make a difference.”