Chantelle Boateng, Social media/ Online editor

” We Are UC” profiles highlights the people who tread the fabric of the Utica College community. These profiles are written from the perspective of the subjects themselves.

My name is Sung Jang, and I am majoring in government and politics. I am originally from Vietnam, but I am Korean and Vietnamese. The reason I chose to come to Utica College was that I really wanted to study in the United States. I never wanted to go to a big school as an undergraduate, so UC being a small college made it an easy choice for me.

Arriving on the UC campus for the first time wasn’t weird, nor was I nervous because I attended an international school back home and had the opportunity to interact with people from multiple cultures. My experience with other cultures made adapting and transitioning here in the United States and at UC more smooth. When I arrived, I also noticed that everyone was doing their own thing at first, which was strange to me, but after a while, I became accustomed to it. America to me also meant that there was more freedom.

Although I was happy to be here in the States, I did miss home a lot because I was not a fan of the food here, and I’m still not a fan. This was the main thing that I was having a hard time with but being here was amazing, and I also appreciated the freedom I had because I could truly be myself.

Coming to the U.S. gave me a chance to major in government and politics, which was really important to me. The reason behind choosing my major was because I want to be able to change and prevent what took place during and after the Vietnam war. My passion for this major is due to the fact that my family suffered after the war, and I don’t want what took place back then to happen again, where the Vietnamese people were abused by politicians.

My major also influenced me to join Model UN and Student Government Association. I joined Model UN mainly because I was part of one back home as a high school student. I was the deputy secretary general of the second-largest conference in Asia.

I want students to learn that the real world is much bigger than their world and that not everything is about America, or about you. I also want the students to learn that their view is not always more important than someone else’s, nor is it correct. I joined the Student Government Association to give the student body a non-American perspective on how things are done or viewed in a different country.