In this blog post, I’ll summarize the academic experiences, school activities, and collaborative projects I undertook while majoring in Urban Environment to bring my dream of becoming an environmental engineer to life.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
I settled on my career path early on and began preparing for it by enrolling in the Urban Environment Department at a high school specializing in urban science and technology—a rare program in Korea. Since my classmates also had relatively clear career paths, we were able to approach both classes and lab work in a goal-oriented manner. I had a strong interest in the environmental field, and based on that interest, I found great satisfaction in learning about 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 of elements and molecular formulas, and used this foundational knowledge when studying specialized courses later on.
Many of the specialized courses, such as Industrial Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, were experiment-based. Thanks to the specialized classroom system, I was able to move to classrooms suited to the nature of each subject to attend lab sessions, and I experienced learner-centered activities through a variety of 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 these practical exercises. The school’s state-of-the-art laboratory equipment enhanced my immersion in the experiments, and in the field of environmental treatment, I primarily conducted basic chemical engineering lab work. 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 lab sessions.
There was a significant difference between simply following procedures during lab work and performing tasks 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 in and aptitude for my major became clear, and my interest in the environmental treatment field solidified even further.
Write about major campus activities and reflections
Our university operates a “Technical Academy” program in partnership with small and medium-sized enterprises, allowing students to receive hands-on, practice-oriented training after school. I was selected for this program during my freshman year and consistently participated in it until graduation, acquiring 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 field. In particular, the writing and presentation practice required to explain design drawings based on measurement data was extremely helpful.
At first, my writing often included colloquial sentences or short conversational expressions, which were frequently inappropriate for reports or explanatory texts. However, through feedback and revisions, I learned how to structure sentences in a formal style and use technical terminology correctly, as well as how to organize content so that readers could easily understand the design drawings. This process helped me develop confidence and interest in writing in English.
The “Design and Execution of Process Experiments” course provided an opportunity to go beyond simple experiments and directly carry out complex design processes that integrated various process elements. Whereas my work had previously often stopped at the plant design stage, this course allowed me to actually operate the experiments I designed, verify the results, and identify areas for improvement.
Since the core of the Engineer Training School program is 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 space for hands-on training, we visited SME sites to observe plant processes firsthand. This experience was invaluable for developing practical skills that are difficult to acquire from diagrams in textbooks alone, and it provided substantial support in preparing for my 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 exam. Although the regular prep 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, together with two friends who had high attendance rates, I set a regular study schedule and proposed that we move forward together by sharing the study materials I had prepared in advance. Since the written exam covered a vast amount of material and studying alone would have been overwhelming, we divided the work among ourselves. We created presentations and held discussions on topics ranging from basic physics and chemistry terminology to specific subjects like air pollution, hazardous gases, and water pollution.
During the study group, we encouraged other students from the preparation class to join us, welcoming them without exclusion and fostering the sharing of information and discussion. By sharing the materials we created and involving them in our discussions, the learning experience became richer, and we 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 lab for collaborative learning. Although we were a small group, we helped each other with complex practical exercises, such as using glassware and preparing reagents. As a result, this was a great help in preparing for the practical exam, and we were able to achieve excellent results.
Through this experience, I learned that when we share a common goal, individual efforts can be amplified into the group’s collective momentum. I also realized firsthand that an attitude of freely sharing information and inclusive collaboration leads to tangible results.
