Faith Hyun will be graduating with an M.A. from the Department of Education at the Gevirtz School. She will moving back to her home in South Korea, where she has obtained a teaching position at a Christian private school.
GGSE: Tell us about your research projects. What are your research interests, and why are they important to you?
Hyun: I am interested in how different learning environments/cultures influence students’ learning and their motivation to learn. My research interests also involve how collaborative engagement and interactions in a classroom enhance student learning. I grew up in such a competitive learning environment that only valued high standardized test scores, which made most students, including myself, not know why they studied and why they went to school. The meaning of learning was totally lost. I hope to help students have more enjoyable and valuable learning experiences from school, discovering themselves and finding their dreams, and I believe my research is important in this aspect.
The study I did for my MA explores what early adolescents are learning from an environmental education afterschool program and how the program is supporting their learning.
GGSE: If you could give us one piece of information that you wished every person knew and remembered about your research, what would it be?
Hyun: I wish everyone to remember that the most important point when working with youths is to create a safe learning space. When they are given voices, they have so much valuable knowledge and experiences to bring into the space that could inspire the entire group. This seems quite obvious, but it tends to be forgotten or challenging (definitely for myself too) when it comes to implementing it in actual classrooms that usually follow solid structures.
GGSE: What’s next? What do you hope to do after earning your M.A.?
Hyun: I will be moving back to my home in South Korea and start my new teaching job at a Christian private school. Always keeping in mind why I came to pursue a graduate degree in Education and what I learned, felt, and realized over the course of the experiences at GGSE, I want to serve as a bridge between my future students and their dreams.
GGSE: What piece of advice would you pass on to future students in the Gevirtz School?
Hyun: I would have to say that GGSE has been a very special community for me personally with such supportive colleagues and faculty members that truly care about me and wish for my success. If you have the same mindset of supporting, encouraging, and caring for each other, rather than comparing and competing, I’m sure you’ll be able to make valuable connections that will strengthen you to successfully complete the program and achieve further goals – that would be my advice.
GGSE: Is there anyone in the Gevirtz School that you would like to thank?
Hyun: I have so many people that I would like to thank, but would definitely thank my two amazing advisors, Dr. Diana Arya and Dr. Julie Bianchini. They gave me so many wonderful opportunities that helped me explore various educational research studies, serve the local community through afterschool programs, and connect with fellow colleagues that have similar research interests to mine. My life as a graduate student at UCSB wouldn’t have been the same without their support.
GGSE: What is one of your favorite memories of your graduate school experience?
Hyun: One of my favorite memories I had during my graduate study is when I went to the lagoon on campus with the kids from the afterschool program, called “LEAFY.” I worked as a coordinator. We created art pieces with materials from nature and wrote poems related to the art pieces, sitting on the grass, which was a very relaxing moment. I remember being so touched by the kids’ poems and their creativity, which has been one of the big motivators for me.
GGSE: In lieu of an in-person ceremony, how will you be celebrating your graduation?
Hyun: I really appreciated that GGSE sent a graduation cap and a stole to my Minnesota address, which is where I’m staying after the campus closed down due to the pandemic, as a graduation gift. Although I won’t be able to go back to Santa Barbara to take photos (very sad…), I am planning to take photos here by the lake with my friend who earned her M.A. degree this spring too, each wearing the cap and the stole.