Chasing one’s passions and staying true to them is always easier said than done. However, if I had to pick someone whom I think successfully embodies the quality of a dream chaser, this week’s Campus Celebrity would be my first choice. Alfred Ko is a third year Faculty of Arts student majoring in Speech Sciences, who has come to discover his love for both language-learning and the cognitive study of speech production. Amidst the back-breaking remnants of midterm season, as well as the seemingly endless rounds of assignments and essays that are starting to kick in, Alfred kindly took the time to allow me to peer into his world of Linguistics and Speech Sciences, and showed me his unceasing curiosity and positive attitude whihc allows his wealth of knowledge to continuously bloom and prosper.
Alfred’s involvement in bringing to light the interesting and fascinating side of languages, cognitive systems, and ‘those weird symbols you see in dictionaries’ is evident primarily in his commitment to UBC’s Speech and Linguistics Student Association, more commonly known as SALSA. Alfred was convinced by friends to take on the position of an executive in the association, working closely with peers and members of the Arts Undergraduate Society. He states that his experience with SALSA has allowed him to “grow as a leader, and as a more responsible person.” Throughout the year, Alfred and other executive members of SALSA cooperate diligently to build “a sense of community and belonging to the student body of UBC’s Linguistics Department,” as well as facilitate a family-like linguistics community, welcoming new additions with numerous events throughout the school year.
I have known Alfred since high school, and was curious as to why he had chosen to pursue the discipline of Linguistics and Speech Sciences. “Originally, I was still debating whether I should study Linguistics or Psychology,” he said. Alfred’s experience of studying Psychology in the International Baccalaureate program was an extremely positive one; however, he revealed that he “couldn’t give up his love for learning about different languages and systems”, leading him to seek a middle ground – Speech Sciences. The combination of cognitive and developmental Psychology, and the mechanics of language phonology and semantics, allowed Alfred to truly delve into the realm of his interests and passions. Alfred is a multilingual student to begin with, with Mandarin and Korean as two of his mother-tongues. His passion for language learning motivated him to study additional languages, such as Japanese and Russian.
Alfred had always struck me as being someone who stays true to himself, and someone who isn’t fearful of running after the things that he feels passionate about. He revealed his most inspiring figures to be his parents, two extremely supportive and inspirational individuals who taught him that life is “full of many different opportunities and paths. Although there will be ups and downs in life, and although it may not always go the way you want it to be, there are still many different paths to explore.” Alfred’s curiosity, positivity, and strong-willed attitude shines through in his journey of chasing knowledge, as well as his aspirations of pursuing a career involving helping children with speech delays and disorders to develop their language abilities. His love for the discipline also manifests itself in his desire for continuous learning and research. His advice for living a fulfilling student life at UBC was “Be dedicated, patient, and unafraid to take risks or ask questions.”
Lastly, Alfred encourages all to keep an eye out for SALSA’s upcoming annual 19+ Wine & Cheese event! Details will be posted on the SALSA Facebook page.