My name is Mary Keun Young Park. I work for the city government of Ansan City in Korea, as an environmental specialist. Ansan City has over 650,000 citizens. Even though it has a large industrial complex zone, Ansan City is being developed as a cultural city inheriting the spirits of the great scholar Seongho Lee Ik and the famous artist Danwon Kim Hong Do.

I studied Environmental Engineering at Kyonggi University in 1988 - 1992. My job is quite related with my major, and I am responsible for operating sewage treatment processes and conducting laboratory tests such as BOD, COD, SS, and microbiological tests. I also guide citizens, students, and people who visit the plant and explain to them how the sewage is treated.

Experiences in Utah

Utah is a special place to me because my favorite American friend was at Hill Air Base in 2001 and I heard a lot about Salt Lake City and Utah. However, almost 15 hours long flight from Korea was enough for me to give up learning English. In addition to it, I experienced a bad bleed nose that I had never had before and spent almost $700 for an ambulance and treatments at ER. On the other hand, I was fascinated with impressive classes, challenges for learning English, and a lot of fantastic scenery.

I was so lucky to have great classes, which were not only presentations on my work but also lectures on the government. It was very important to me because I am not a student but a worker for government. Working presentation was a lot of work but I had more confidence for speaking in English afterward. At the lectures of Dr. Richard Simpson on the government. I realized the importance of my work in public sectors. Moreover, it was really a good experience for me to have pre-academic life because I will go to graduate school this September.

Another interesting part was the 'Challenging Lists'. Randall, who is one of teachers at ELI (the English Language Institute), gave me a list for taking challenges in real situations such as ordering a pizza by phone, interviewing a stranger, and asking directions to a place. Through taking these challenges, I met a certain woman who worked in an Italian restaurant in downtown, and she was interested in Korean food. Another woman that I met, Joan, was so friendly that I didn't get frustrated. She was from Idaho and a freshman majoring in international history. These all were good for me to have confidence speaking in English and enough to learn their culture.

The last one of my good memories was the great scenery such as Arches, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse Point. I was overwhelmed by walls thousands of feet thick in places and amazed that water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery in these national parks. I had a lot of sweat while walking up to the Delicate Arches, but it was worth it.

Staying in Utah, it reminds me of the sentence on a leaflet of The Arches Much More Life Than Meets the Eye? All of those will give me chances to world.

Future Plan

I remember a thought that Randall wrote on the board the other day. �Two men look out of the same prison bars: one sees the dirt, the other one the stars? Situations create who you are and view of life is important.

I have worked for the city governments as a civil servant for 10 years. And I got admitted to the University of British Columbia in Canada this April when I was in this course. I will have further study for my Master's Degree coming this September. Some people say that a sabbatical leave for further studies doesn't help my carrier and promotion. Without self-development, civil servants?jobs are very safe. As an environmental specialist, however, I need to study more and contribute to the society. Even though it has been a while since my graduation, surely I will make it.