Mina Park College Graduation Fund
Donation protected
Mina Park is an undergraduate music major at Murray State University. She is entering her final semester before graduation, but financial burdens have made it imperative to call on the help of others to help her raise enough money to return to school and finish her coursework so that she may be able to pursue what means most of all to her in life:
a career in music.
-- We all have a very personal story to tell, all filled with the most upright motivations to why we should be able to freely pursue our dreams. Because of this, the motivations of others can be seen as arbitrary campared to our own...
For this reason, I have chosen to not directly tell Mina's story. I doubt I could give it full justice anyway. Instead, I will tell you of my experience with this extremely talented, intelligent, kind, and (beyond) driven person. It is my expectation that many of you who've met Mina have had similar experiences. --
My first experiences with Mina were to be as expected: listening to her perform as a pianist. As a collegiate musician, it is easy for me to take for granted the many opportunitities I have to listen to talented musicians... but this was not the case when I heard her music.
After taking the stage, her anxiety begins to project with trembling hands hovering over the keyboard, but the tense moment is short-lived once she begins to play. My ears and eyes were immediately drawn to the technical and musical maturity that was being demostrated - a skillful maturity rarely experienced with an undergraduate musician.
Knowing Mina much more now than when I first met her 3 years ago, I can honestly say that she is one of the most self-driven and hard-working students I've had the pleasure of meeting.
My relationship with her has given me a lot of insight into her efforts and routine. At all times she carries around with her a detailed schedule of her week that she keeps updated every day. On that schedule she manages to balance a vast cirriculum of classes, her on-campus job, accompanying rehearsals, numerous performances, and recitals & events she will attend. Outside of her many daily requirements, she can be found spending extensive hours in the practice room.
Her night life is not one that conforms to that of a typical college students. Evenings that could be spent relaxing or enjoying time with friends are nearly all filled with homework, assignments, and preparation.
As an international student from South Korea, Mina continuously dumbfounds me with her rigorous ability to tackle the obstacles that arise from English being a second language.
While Mina is surprisingly fluent in the English language from her time in the U.S., the many challenges that occur from studying in your second language are as expected. Short assignments can turn into long projects as you look up word definitions. Papers with great content are still graded more critically because of grammatical errors, Tests also become much more difficult when you have less understanding of context clues. Even taking notes in lectures can be frustrating when you hear a word or two you do not understand. Because of this barrier, Mina is not offered short-cuts like many students are. Neither does she offer herself any. Long nights of studying, reading, critical thinking and checking herself have resulted in her being a very successful student at Murray State.
No doubt... Mina is an extremely hard-working, talented, and intelligent individual. Outside of music and academia, though, she also has the kind personality and life skills that will allow her to succeed.
Throughout all of the work she puts in and struggles she faces, Mina generously offers a smile on her face and a welcoming personality that offers to help those around her. Despite how stressful as life is... she has the instinctful knowledge of how to get things done. These life skills range from her ability to communicate to simply responsible acts like preparing an entire week's meals during the weekends. These are not qualities of your average college student.
Her optimism and joy makes believe in one certain thing: Mina loves music; she loves what she's doing!
... but she needs Your Help. This woman continues to put in the work, day-in and day-out. Unless she is able to raise the money to finish this last semester of classes and graduate in May of 2017, it may all be for nothing.
Please join me in supporting this fine human being so that she may finish her studies, pursue her passions, and have a fulfilling life with a career in what she loves most:
MUSIC
No Donation Is Too Small
Anything you can do will help, including Sharing this with friends, family, and those you think can help.
Sincerely... thank You SO much.
- Zach Smith
a career in music.
-- We all have a very personal story to tell, all filled with the most upright motivations to why we should be able to freely pursue our dreams. Because of this, the motivations of others can be seen as arbitrary campared to our own...
For this reason, I have chosen to not directly tell Mina's story. I doubt I could give it full justice anyway. Instead, I will tell you of my experience with this extremely talented, intelligent, kind, and (beyond) driven person. It is my expectation that many of you who've met Mina have had similar experiences. --
My first experiences with Mina were to be as expected: listening to her perform as a pianist. As a collegiate musician, it is easy for me to take for granted the many opportunitities I have to listen to talented musicians... but this was not the case when I heard her music.
After taking the stage, her anxiety begins to project with trembling hands hovering over the keyboard, but the tense moment is short-lived once she begins to play. My ears and eyes were immediately drawn to the technical and musical maturity that was being demostrated - a skillful maturity rarely experienced with an undergraduate musician.
Knowing Mina much more now than when I first met her 3 years ago, I can honestly say that she is one of the most self-driven and hard-working students I've had the pleasure of meeting.
My relationship with her has given me a lot of insight into her efforts and routine. At all times she carries around with her a detailed schedule of her week that she keeps updated every day. On that schedule she manages to balance a vast cirriculum of classes, her on-campus job, accompanying rehearsals, numerous performances, and recitals & events she will attend. Outside of her many daily requirements, she can be found spending extensive hours in the practice room.
Her night life is not one that conforms to that of a typical college students. Evenings that could be spent relaxing or enjoying time with friends are nearly all filled with homework, assignments, and preparation.
As an international student from South Korea, Mina continuously dumbfounds me with her rigorous ability to tackle the obstacles that arise from English being a second language.
While Mina is surprisingly fluent in the English language from her time in the U.S., the many challenges that occur from studying in your second language are as expected. Short assignments can turn into long projects as you look up word definitions. Papers with great content are still graded more critically because of grammatical errors, Tests also become much more difficult when you have less understanding of context clues. Even taking notes in lectures can be frustrating when you hear a word or two you do not understand. Because of this barrier, Mina is not offered short-cuts like many students are. Neither does she offer herself any. Long nights of studying, reading, critical thinking and checking herself have resulted in her being a very successful student at Murray State.
No doubt... Mina is an extremely hard-working, talented, and intelligent individual. Outside of music and academia, though, she also has the kind personality and life skills that will allow her to succeed.
Throughout all of the work she puts in and struggles she faces, Mina generously offers a smile on her face and a welcoming personality that offers to help those around her. Despite how stressful as life is... she has the instinctful knowledge of how to get things done. These life skills range from her ability to communicate to simply responsible acts like preparing an entire week's meals during the weekends. These are not qualities of your average college student.
Her optimism and joy makes believe in one certain thing: Mina loves music; she loves what she's doing!
... but she needs Your Help. This woman continues to put in the work, day-in and day-out. Unless she is able to raise the money to finish this last semester of classes and graduate in May of 2017, it may all be for nothing.
Please join me in supporting this fine human being so that she may finish her studies, pursue her passions, and have a fulfilling life with a career in what she loves most:
MUSIC
No Donation Is Too Small
Anything you can do will help, including Sharing this with friends, family, and those you think can help.
Sincerely... thank You SO much.
- Zach Smith
Organizer
Zach Smith
Organizer
Murray, KY