[2011 U-SURF] My USURF Experience
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성명 : Parsons, Clayton / 출신학교 : University of Michigan / 참여연구실 : Design and Control Lab
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I was first admitted into the USURF program. I had no prior
research experience and was also not proficient with the Korean language. I thought the
communication barrier combined with my lack of experience would be a recipe for disaster. However,
I was pleasantly surprised to see that both my professor and my lab partners were very friendly and
understanding.
They helped with any problems I ran into and many of them spoke English much better than I first
anticipated, especially the professors. It was also a privilege to work with the very new and state of
the art equipment found in the laboratories at UNIST. As for the campus itself, the landscape is
beautiful and very pristine; the whole university is surrounded by elegant mountains. However, the
landscape also contributes to a certain level of isolation from city life. It could be difficult at times to
find somewhere to go for fun.
Yet the isolation problem was soon resolved by the kindness and generosity of the students there.
It wasn’t long before I had lots of friends from the University who were both willing and glad to show
me around and help me know which buses to take to visit the exciting parts of the city. I also got
involved with the international student organization there and I was able to meet other international
students who helped me easily figure out all the stuff they had already had to deal with. One of them
even showed me an English speaking Church I could go to on Sundays, and it wasn’t long before we
started having regular sports nights followed by a nice dinners.
I was even treated to an authentic Pakistani dinner, courtesy of some of the international students
there who happened to be excellent cooks. My USURF experience wasn’t always easy; but the
amount that I was able to learn from the research, combined with the fun cultural experiences I was
exposed to and the amazing friends that I was able to meet, made the trip both fun and rewarding.
I had a great time and would highly recommend the USURF program to other students.