Bokyung Kim
B.A., summa cum laude, Business Administration, Marketing, 2023
Volunteer in internal communications and marketing strategy, Greenstand
“Thanks to the Alfie Scholars Program, I found my true calling in life, that I want to live my life to eliminate human suffering in this world through mindfulness and sustainability. Thanks to the Alfie Scholars Program, I attained self-actualization, that I have something to bring to this world and that I can make a change in this world.”
Service & Work:
Elite Volunteer, Cascadia College
Writing Tutor, Cascadia College
Public Speaking Tutor, Cascadia College
Volunteer Tax Preparer
President, Korean Language Club, Cascadia College, January 2020–March 2020
Awards & Honors:
Spirit of Seattle U. Award, May 2022
President’s List
Dean’s List
President, Seattle University International Student Association (SUISA)
Member, Albers Placement Center Undergraduate Advisory Council
New Student Representative, Korean Student Association, November 2021 – June 2022
International Representative, Student Government of Seattle University, October 2021 – June 2022
Member, Tau Sigma National Honor Society
Member, Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society
Member, National Society of Leadership and Success
Alfie Scholars, Cohort 6, 2021–2023
Achievement Scholarship
President’s List, Cascadia College
President’s Honors, Cascadia College
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
Bokyung’s Story
My journey from South Korea to England, to Canada, and to the U.S. starts with my mom’s story. When my mom was in my age, she aspired to come to the U.S. and follow her dream in a bigger world of more opportunities and freedom. However, she was not able to do this due to the cultural norm in Korea that devalued women’s education and deemed women’s role as wives. When my mom had my sister and I, she decided that no matter what, she will support us to go explore the bigger world and live the lives we want to live. Therefore, my educational life, led by my mom, turned out to be very different from majority of students in South Korea; I have spent my post-elementary time in international schools in England and Korea, a public school in Canada, and a college in the U.S.
Although I succeeded in going out and seeing the bigger world in those different countries, I could not figure out how I want to live my life until I learned to take care of my mental health, which I had struggled with for my whole life. Growing up, life was beautiful. I was happy and confident about myself and my life, and I was not afraid of anything. However, ever since I went to England and my social life began, social pressure entered my life. I started to feel like I had to look, talk, and act in a certain way to get accepted by other people. I also started to develop a bad habit of overthinking and worrying about how others think of me. Then soon, a self-critic and perfectionism entered my life. Every day, every hour, every minute, and every second, the self-critic constantly whispered to me about things I was lacking at and I was not perfect at. Every day was a reminder that I was not enough, and one day, I found myself looking into the mirror and not being happy with whom I saw.
The constant thoughts and worries about how I appear to others and how imperfect I am finally got so extreme that I found myself wishing I could turn off my brain for at least one second. Life is very interesting, however, because it always gives you a way out of the struggle when it reaches the threshold; last year, reading a book called Buddha’s Brain changed everything. Learning about the pervasiveness and causes of human suffering, I understood why I had been suffering so much, for the first time in my life. Learning about the cure for human suffering, mindfulness, I gained a new insight in terms of the way I treat my emotions and thoughts, and I finally was able to find peace in my mind; for the first time in a very long time, I was okay with who I am.
After finding peace, all the clouds that blinded me from the light slowly disappeared, and the only thing I saw was the beautiful world with beautiful people in it. Now, I started to care about the world and think about what my job is in this world. I first turned to people. Because so many people suffer with their mental health, as someone who found peace through mindfulness, I decided that I want to spread this precious tool to other people and help them also find peace. Then I turned to what other things make people suffer. I got interested in environmental issues that were and will be harming so many people, and I decided that I want to live my life fighting against climate change. This is because as a person identifying as a global citizen due to living in many countries, I have come to define climate change as a threat to our people and our home.
I am grateful for where I am now and how I got here. I am grateful that I am no longer suffering with my own illusions about who I should be. I am grateful that I feel love for this world and its people. I am grateful that I am right now in the U.S. attending Seattle University, with so many opportunities waiting for me to fulfill my mission to make a change in this world. Lastly, I am grateful for having my mom as my mom, who led and supported me to come to this big world and enabled me to live the life I want to live.
My advice to others is this: remember that you are always enough. Whenever you hear the little critic whisper to you that you lack at this and that, let it speak to you, and then tell the critic that regardless of the facts, you are still okay and perfect. Once your mind finds peace, you will be able to see the beautiful world and your place in it.
Goals:
In my life, everything I have seen, felt, and thought has shaped the way I see the world and how I want to live in it. Living in four countries has shaped my desire to be a member of the global business community. Because the business sector is the biggest contributor to the environmental problems, I believe that if the business sector puts civility and sustainability as their priority, their practices will help solve and prevent so many, or even almost all of the environmental issues that threaten humanity’s safety and well-being. Therefore, I dream to make a positive impact in the business and economic areas of the world. My short-term professional goal is to get a job in the finance field and start getting basic knowledge and experience in current business system and practices. Then, I plan to join or create a global organization committed to finding ways to effectively allocate invested money for sustainable development, especially to address climate change. My long-term goal is to influence the business world to prioritize civility by factoring social and environmental impacts in their decision-making and by promoting civility in their work environment. Also, I would like to make an impact on the business world to be more sustainable. For instance, I hope to advocate for policies that promote more local distribution of goods in the supply chains and that make the world’s economic systems more circular and service-based. These are just a few examples of how I aspire to bring greater civility and sustainability into our current business and economic frames.
On Civility:
To me, civility means love for this world and its people. It is valuing our mother earth and the shelter and resources she provides us to live. It is valuing every single person on earth and embracing the diversity that each one of us bring to this world. At the core of civility, there is always the premise that we include everyone in our conversations, with no one left out of our circle. In addition, civility means that we are mindful of our impact on others and that we set the intention to make a positive impact on the lives of other people. Thus, civility is listening to people’s stories and tending to their suffering; civility is fighting for justice wherever we find ourselves. Imagine a world where everyone truly cares about each other, where no one is “othered,” where every suffering is cared for, and where every wrong is righted. In the world of civility, there will be less social problems and more peace and happiness for the humanity.
