Mr. Daniel

Interviewer: IngIng

“You can reach for something, but it’s good to have a plan. That was the number one thing I learned. As we get older, there are a lot of challenges in life but one of the biggest challenges for me happened when I was in my final year of university. It was a very busy time as I was working a couple of jobs and was a full time student. At that time, I was preparing for my GRE, which is the Graduate Record Exam similar to the SAT. Despite the fact that I was working extremely hard and got very high grades, I froze up during the exam. I felt like my brain shut down, and ended up not performing well. Nevertheless, I still wanted to join a very prestigious graduate school. Although my professor suggested that I try several schools, one that is easy to get into, one that is harder to get into, and one that would really want me and would give me a full scholarship. I decided to focus on only 2 schools I wanted to get into. Unfortunately, neither of the schools accepted me and then I had no plan at all. At that point, I decided to move back to Ohio, where I came from, to find a job. My aunt who lived there was working with a private psychologist. Therefore, she suggested that I have an interview with that psychologist. It was a lifechanging moment. The psychologist advised me to join a school in Ohio since she also graduated from there and was currently running this private practice. Right after that, I made an appointment with the school. They accepted me straight away and offered me a teaching assistant job. However, all the scholarships were gone, so I had to take out student loans. It was a completely new experience as I tried to learn different learning methods. It was an extremely stressful time as I worked for 35 hours and learned for 15 hours worth of classes weekly. I didn’t have a lot of support or much money as the teaching assistant job also didn’t pay much. Managing time was difficult for me as I had so many responsibilities. I had no time to rest at all, and that was when I began running. I ran everyday to reduce stress and clear my mind and I still do. Listening to music while running also calms me down. Recalling those days, I learned many essential things. For instance, managing stress. Although I don’t really regret anything, if I could go back in time, I would study harder for the GRE. The one mistake I made was not listening to my professor’s advice, so the advice I would give for students here would be to look at all their options when they apply for universities. Always remember, life is like a long road where you meet lots of difficulties so never give up and one day you will be successful in your life.”

Melissa Interviewer: Tae

I have found my passion. Back in high school when I was about to graduate, I took the National Interest Examination that determines what I am good at. I got science and math as my highest score and they gave me the advice to become a medical doctor or an engineer. I became a construction engineer back in my country until my friend told me to visit Thailand as a tourist. I really love Thailand but my hardest decision was to move here. It was a good decision because I got a good job here in Concordian, without this job, I would’ve gone back to my country. I was able to be here now from my father’s advice. Whatever you do, whether it’s big or small, do it efficiently and honestly. It has motivated me to work harder. For me, a big part of living my life to the fullest is not wasting time, working hard, being happy with everything I have at the moment, and finding my passion. I think that I will accomplish living my life to the fullest. I am about to retire and I really considered myself done. I have saved my money and plan to travel around the world. I plan my health insurance and everything so that I can do everything I want after my retirement. I did my best with no regrets. I would consider my life now very calm rather than chaotic. I would pray and I know that every problem has a solution, just like math!”