In this blog post, I’ll summarize the academic experiences, school activities, and collaborative projects I undertook while pursuing my dream of becoming an environmental engineer through my major in Urban Environment.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
I enrolled in the Urban Environment Department at a high school specializing in urban science and technology—a rare program in Korea—which allowed me to set my career path early and prepare accordingly. Since my classmates also had relatively clear career paths, we were able to approach both classes and practical training in a goal-oriented manner. I had a strong interest in the environmental field, and based on that interest, I found great satisfaction in professionally studying facilities and plants designed to improve the environment.
The foundational skill particularly required in our department was knowledge of chemistry. Therefore, I devoted extra effort to chemistry among my other subjects. I thoroughly took notes on and memorized basic concepts such as the periodic table and molecular formulas, using them as a foundation when studying specialized courses later on.
In specialized courses, there were many experiment-centered classes, such as industrial chemistry and analytical chemistry. Thanks to the specialized classroom system, I was able to move to classrooms suited to the characteristics of each subject to attend lab classes, and I experienced learner-centered activities through various teaching methods. By going directly to the chemistry lab to participate in hands-on classes, I experienced firsthand how theory and practice come together.
As I aspired to become an engineer, I put particular effort into practical training. The school’s state-of-the-art equipment enhanced my immersion in the experiments, and in the environmental treatment field, I primarily focused on basic chemical engineering labs. Designing a plant required knowledge from various subjects, such as unit operations, process control, and drafting, and I made an effort to apply what I learned in each class to the objectives of the practical exercises.
There was a significant difference between simply following procedures during practical exercises and performing them with specific goals in mind, such as renewable energy, air purification, noise reduction, and water quality management. Once I set goals and approached the practical training with purpose, my interest and aptitude for my major became clear, and my interest in the environmental treatment field solidified even further.
Write about major on-campus activities and reflections
Our school operates a “Technical Academy” program in partnership with small and medium-sized enterprises, allowing students to receive practical, hands-on training after school. I was selected for this program in my first year and consistently participated in it until graduation, mastering specialized technical skills. With approximately 500 hours of training allocated per academic year, I devoted a significant portion of my after-school time to this program.
The main courses I took were the Industrial English program and the Design and Execution of Process Experiments. Unlike general English classes, the Industrial English course focused on technical terminology and on-site conversation specific to the industrial sector. In particular, the writing and presentation practice required to explain design drawings based on measurement data was extremely helpful.
At first, when writing, I often used colloquial sentences or short conversational expressions, which were frequently inappropriate for reports or explanatory texts. However, through feedback, I learned how to construct sentences in formal style and use technical terminology correctly, and I also learned how to organize content so that readers could easily understand the design drawings. This process gave me confidence and sparked my interest in English writing.
The course on the design and execution of process experiments provided an opportunity to go beyond simple experiments and directly carry out complex design processes that integrated various process elements. Previously, my work often stopped at the plant design stage, but in this course, I gained experience actually operating the experiments I designed to verify results and identify areas for improvement.
Since the core of the Technical College system lies in its collaboration with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), industry professionals were dispatched to guide our practical training or provide materials and models. When the school lacked sufficient practical training space, we visited SME sites to observe plant processes firsthand. This experience was invaluable for developing practical skills that are difficult to acquire through textbook illustrations alone, and it provided substantial support for my preparation for the Skilled Worker certification.
Writing About Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation and My Reflections
During the first semester of my senior year of high school, I participated in a study group preparing for the Environmental Technician certification. Although the regular preparation class had few attendees, making systematic operation difficult, I decided I needed to revitalize the study group to achieve my personal goal of obtaining the certification before graduation.
First, I worked with two friends who had high attendance rates to set a regular study schedule. I proposed that we share the study materials I had prepared in advance and work through the curriculum together. Since the written exam covered a vast amount of material, studying alone would have been overwhelming. Therefore, we divided the work among ourselves, creating and presenting materials on topics ranging from basic physics and chemistry terminology to detailed subjects like air pollution, hazardous gases, and water pollution, followed by group discussions.
During the study group, I encouraged other students from the preparation class to join us without excluding them, fostering a shared exchange of information and discussion. By sharing the materials we created and involving them in discussions, the learning content became richer, and I made sure as many people as possible could benefit.
After passing the written exam, we continued with a practical skills study group, renting a school laboratory for collaborative learning. Although we were a small group, we helped each other during complex practical exercises, such as using precision instruments or preparing reagents. As a result, this greatly aided our practical exam preparation and enabled us to achieve excellent results.
Through this experience, I learned that when goals are shared, individual efforts expand into collective momentum. I also realized firsthand that an attitude of freely sharing information and inclusive cooperation leads to tangible results.
