NSC Students Headed to South Korea

안녕하세요!

Many of us have no idea what that means, nor will it ever likely be significant. But for four very excited Nevada State College students, “안녕하세요!” will become very important, very soon.

Ariella Youdelman, Elan Andruss, and Angelica Favela

Pronounced “ahn-yung-hah-say-yo,” 안녕하세요 is the formal greeting in Korean, the equivalent to the English “Hello!” NSC students, Angelica Favela (English), Ariella Youdelman (Occupational Science/Psychology), Trey Takahashi (Secondary Education - History), and Elan Andruss (Secondary Education - English) will be making use of it and many other conversational Korean phrases this summer, as they have been chosen by the City of Henderson to participate in a Youth Ambassador position in Dubong, South Korea.

Learning Korean, however, won’t be their main focus. They will spend most of their time working in summer camps helping to teach Korean students conversational English. Over the course of five weeks, the chosen NSC students, along with two CSN undergrads also chosen by the City of Henderson, will stay with host families and teach during the day, all the while acting as representatives of their schools, Henderson, Nevada, and even the entire United States.

Trey Takahashi

Not ones to be bogged down by such pressure, the four are ecstatic that they were selected from many other applicants to participate in this rare opportunity. “I’m not sure it’s really sunk in yet,” Elan Andruss said, “but the closer it gets the harder it is to focus on anything else!” Being the studious citizen she is, Angelica Favela has taken it upon herself to learn as much about Korean culture as she can before leaving. “I’ve taken to filling my free time with learning Korean phrases and trying to broaden my understanding about Korean society. We haven’t even left yet and already I feel like I’ve learned so much!”

While they admit that they won’t have much free time to devote until the semester is over, they eagerly await what will surely be the trip of a lifetime.