From the perspective of a Korean student
Many would ask me why among the schools in Dumaguete City, I chose to be in Foundation University.
That’s a very common question I expect from people I get to meet every day. But of course, I’m always ready and more than willing to answer whenever they ask me this.
You see, I am a Korean. As we all know, most Koreans and other non-English speaking natives flock here to Dumaguete to learn English.
In my case, I’m here at FU taking a four-year course, hoping to get back to my home place, Korea, with the dreams that FU has instilled in me personally.
One of the things that made me stay and love Foundation University are its friendly, approachable, and competent faculty and staff. I can’t stop myself from making a comparison between the teachers and staff I had in Korea and the ones that I have hereat FU.
Yes, both may be competent, but when it comes to the way they relate to students, there is a big difference. The teacher factor here at FU is a big deal in our improvement as students. We are motivated to do well and at our best in class, especially when we are treated well by our teachers.
Another thing is the FU campus itself. The greenery in campus provides positive signs of a growing, abundant, and healthy environment.
When we talk about education, it entails the total package and not only the things that we learn from the teachers’ talk every class meeting.
It entails a sound mind and broad culture, healthy mind, body, and character. These can’t be attained only by means of teaching in the four walls of the classroom but also by the clean and peaceful environment as well.
One of the goals of Foundation University is to instill strict discipline among its students. I believe that the implementation of the uniform policy is one of its ways to make disciplining possible.
The policy is simple, yet it is attainable. At first, it came as a surprise to me because we only have uniforms in special schools in Korea like in military school.
But here at FU, it made me understand that in simple ways, like wearing a uniform, the students are disciplined for us to become better individuals. It made us realize that discipline starts in the little things.
Social gatherings, celebrations and other school activities are also one of those things I like at Foundation University. These extra-curricular activities give us the leeway to express ourselves outside the classroom. They also give us the chance to show the “other side”, non-academic part of ourselves where we can also be at our best. We also get to meet other people whom we can learn from each other.
I also love the FU cafeteria and the FU coffee shop run by students. These two places offer cheaper prices affordable to us students.
We can’t deny the fact that the caf and the coffee shop are some of the few places where a good amount of learning also happens; these are the places where people find chit-chatting an interesting activity as students talk about various topics under the sun.
Foundation University is a great school to be in. With its nice campus view, friendly environment, clean classrooms, good class system, and high quality education, it makes us aim higher and hit the mark we set for ourselves. (Kyu Ui Hong)
