{"id":30997,"date":"2024-08-26T10:18:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T01:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/?p=30997"},"modified":"2024-10-22T10:12:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T01:12:21","slug":"icc-ssl-graduation-report-2408-hyowon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/news-en\/2024\/08\/26\/30997\/","title":{"rendered":"How I survived and grew at ICC\u3000ICC Student Staff Graduation Report"},"content":{"rendered":"
Hyowon
\n<\/strong>Graduate School of Political Science
\n<\/strong>ICC Student Staff Leader<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>November 2019-July 2024<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Prologue<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

A<\/span>s a freshman in SILS (School of International Liberal Studies) who didn\u2019t know anything about<\/span><\/span> it<\/span><\/span><\/span>, I assumed that the Introductory courses were only for <\/span>first-year students.<\/span> I <\/span><\/span>started talking to the student <\/span>sitting <\/span>next to me in a casual way, but<\/span> t<\/span>o my surprise, that student turned out to be a senior<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span>… <\/span>We laughed <\/span><\/span>about<\/span><\/span><\/span> the <\/span>embarrassing situation and naturally became<\/span> close<\/span> friends. <\/span>One day, s<\/span>he introduced me to ICC, <\/span>which<\/span> she loved and worked for.<\/span> As an international student, I struggled to feel connected <\/span><\/span>so<\/span> I <\/span>decided to apply to ICC as a Student Staff Leader<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>to find a place where I could belong within the university. (Of course, <\/span>I was always interested in cultural exchange!<\/span>)<\/span> This is how <\/span>my journey to survive at ICC<\/span> began.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

MC\u2019ing an event (ICC photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Early\u00a0<\/span>Stage<\/span>:<\/span> Building the Foundation <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Starting my first part-time job at ICC\u00a0came with its own set of challenges.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The biggest obstacle at first was the language barrier. Since I wasn\u2019t fluent in either Japanese or English, I felt like I was starting much further behind compared to the other staff members. During meetings, I had to carefully organize my thoughts before speaking, which made my responses come later than others. When writing emails, I spent a lot of time searching for the right business expressions online, which made the task take much longer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, after working for a month, I discovered something important. The range of expressions used in the job wasn\u2019t as varied as I initially thought! By focusing on frequently used phrases from my seniors\u2019 speech and past documents, I was able to speak more naturally and cut down on the time needed for writing. I also found that some expressions that seemed trivial in Korean became more interesting when translated into Japanese or English. Being able to use these expressions as catchphrases was a unique advantage of knowing multiple languages.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The second major difficulty I faced was related to my personality.<\/span> I<\/span> a<\/span>m quite <\/span><\/span>introvert<\/span><\/span>ed<\/span><\/span><\/span>, uncomfortable <\/span><\/span>in<\/span><\/span><\/span> a space with a lot of people, and rarely approach people first.<\/span> However, the <\/span><\/span>work<\/span><\/span><\/span> at ICC required the exact opposite of my natural tendencies. To cope, I decided to create a new persona specifically for my role as a staff member. I acted as if I were someone else while working, doing things I would never normally do. By separating my true self from the staff persona, I managed to avoid stress from activities that didn’t align with my natural behavior. Working at ICC didn\u2019t change my personality<\/span>. <\/span>I remained the same introverted person, but<\/span> now <\/span>I have a new secondary character.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Presentation to a big audience (ICC photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

While I was busy <\/span>adjusting to the new environment, <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span><\/span>COVID-19 <\/span><\/span>pandemic <\/span><\/span><\/span>began,<\/span> and I<\/span> went abroad for my studies. Therefore, I had to <\/span>take <\/span>a year and a half off<\/span><\/span> from ICC<\/span><\/span><\/span>. <\/span>Let\u2019s just say it was a strategic retreat to move forward.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Middle<\/span>:<\/span> Finding My Own Weapons<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

I was a new staff member when I left, but when I returned after a year and a half, I became a senior<\/span><\/span> member<\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/span> During <\/span><\/span>my<\/span><\/span><\/span> absence, I had forgotten almost everything <\/span>about <\/span>the<\/span> work<\/span>, and it was difficult to appear as the seasoned <\/span><\/span>veteran<\/span><\/span><\/span> I was supposed to be. <\/span>Nevertheless, I <\/span><\/span>had to have <\/span><\/span><\/span>needed<\/span><\/span><\/span> \u201c<\/span><\/span><\/span>weapon<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span> to prove that my existence was <\/span><\/span>valuable<\/span><\/span><\/span> for ICC.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My first weapon was my skill in <\/span>doing <\/span>English<\/span> MC<\/span>. Although many staff members at ICC were good at English, they often felt intimidated by and avoided <\/span>taking the role of <\/span>English<\/span> MC<\/span>. I decided to<\/span> take advantage of that point. <\/span>Whenever there was an opportunity to <\/span>be<\/span> an English<\/span> MC<\/span>, I eagerly volunteered and made various efforts to excel. For example, I practiced speaking clearly and loudly, and I prepared questions in advance to engage participants<\/span><\/span> in the audience<\/span><\/span><\/span>. <\/span>My enthusiasm and efforts paid off, and I ended up being the staff member who hosted the most English-speaking events that year (doing almost twice as many as the second-place person).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

MC again! (ICC photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

My second strength was poster design skills. While working at ICC, I <\/span><\/span>discovered a new talent: I was better at design than I had initially thought. When making posters, I tried to follow three key principles: First, keep the information minimal. Second, design so the viewers can grasp the theme of the event at a glance. Third, avoid using the same main colors as other events happening around the same time. By focusing on these three principles and understanding that the primary role of a poster is to attract attention, I was able to produce impressive work that received a lot of praise.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Some of my poster designs (ICC)<\/p><\/div>\n

There is something I really want people who read this to remember: It\u2019s as important to showcase your strengths as it is to have them. No matter how many skills you have, if others don\u2019t recognize them, you won\u2019t get the chance to use them. Whenever I identified <\/span>something that<\/span>\u00a0I was good at, I worked hard to hone that skill and then actively made sure to let others know. This was my way of proving my value.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Final Period: Leaving My Mark<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> <\/span><\/h3>\n
\"\"

Me with my poster (ICC)<\/p><\/div>\n

As time passed, I became a long-standing member of ICC. Even the most firmly lodged stone will eventually be removed, but I wanted to leave some sort of mark to show I had been here that would last as long as possible.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To leave my mark, I chose to speak out for change. In any job, people eventually notice issues within the organization. While everyone may have a sense of what needs improvement, not everyone speaks up about it. If you want the organization to improve and develop further, it\u2019s necessary to <\/span>advocate for change<\/span>, even if it\u2019s difficult. So, I spoke up. I pointed out that the excessive <\/span>amount<\/span> of posters and flyers was a waste of time and resources, that certain events could be managed with just informational handouts instead of having an MC, and that many staff members were unaware of minor tasks like disposing of paper waste. I made these points in meetings, through suggestion emails, and even during casual conversations. Once an issue is brought to light, it often progresses more than you might expect.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is how I survived at ICC. I hope this advice will be helpful to those who will start or doing the survival at ICC.<\/span> (In reality, it\u2019s more accurate to say that ICC helped me grow. Love you, ICC!)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

This way! (ICC photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hyowon Graduate School of Political Science ICC Student Staff Leader November 2019-July 2024 Prologue As a fre […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31023,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,97],"tags":[147,94,117],"class_list":["post-30997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-other-en","tag-blog-en","tag-general-en","tag-studentstaff-report-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30997"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31877,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30997\/revisions\/31877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}