Isioma (“Isy”) Okafor, a graduate from a UW MA program in materials science & engineering, was recently awarded the prestigious Blakemore Freeman Fellowship to study Korean in Busan, South Korea. Isy pursued her language learning passion by studying Korean with Professor EunYoung Won - while simultaneously finishing her MA degree!
Isy said:
"I found a very strong support group in my Korean class. I went into this thinking I would be taking this language journey alone, but I was very wrong. I’m very thankful for my Professor Won. When I started class, I wanted to quit in the first week because I was struggling so much, but thanks to her encouragement I stayed. I barely passed the interview to enter Korean at level 2 – which put me very far behind my classmates and made me the only graduate student amongst undergraduates who had already formed friendships the year before– yet I still formed very close bonds with many of my classmates. To them, I am also thankful for their patience and understanding."