In this blog post, I’ll summarize my academic experiences during high school, meaningful school activities, examples of compassion and giving, as well as my academic plans and career preparation after entering college.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
During my freshman year, I learned sequence control—the foundation of industrial settings—in the Measurement and Control Lab. In hands-on courses, I mastered the use of modules and PLC programming, and I directly implemented production processes through practical exercises involving pneumatic and electro-pneumatic sequence control circuits. Subsequently, in the Instrumentation Applications Lab, I conducted practical exercises using LabVIEW to operate various sensors and motors, while also studying the structure and principles of microprocessor components used in automatic control and industrial equipment control. In particular, I spent a significant amount of time practicing design and programming techniques using microprocessors.
As I advanced to higher grades, I learned electronic circuit design using CAD and gained a deep understanding of circuit structures. Circuit design was primarily conducted through experiments and hands-on exercises in the Instrumentation Circuit Lab, and through courses related to measurement and testing, I gained hands-on experience working with digital multimeters, oscilloscopes, signal generators, and frequency analyzers. I also worked with Automated Test Equipment (ATE) and designed the electronic circuits required to build such equipment.
As a result, building on a foundation in electronic circuits, digital measurement, microprocessors, and the design and fabrication of test equipment, I advanced my studies in applied instrumentation courses, acquiring skills closely aligned with real-world practice. Through this learning process, I developed the problem-solving and applied skills necessary for a hands-on engineer, and I aim to grow into a fully-fledged engineer by pursuing more specialized studies at the university level.
Description of Major Campus Activities and Reflections
Among the activities I valued and dedicated myself to, my involvement in the Embedded Creativity Club played the most significant role. I joined the club because I wanted to deepen my understanding of the programming and computer application skills required for practical training, building on the knowledge I gained in my major courses. The club focused on designing and building new products based on creative invention ideas, and I consistently worked to become proficient in using microcontrollers and embedded programming.
Through my club activities, I practiced proposing my own creative inventions while drawing inspiration from existing works. I realized firsthand that coming up with creative ideas is the most challenging part, but the question posed by my seniors—“How can we make the products we currently use more convenient?”—helped shift my way of thinking. Rather than forcing myself to come up with completely new and unprecedented ideas, I began to focus on improving the inconveniences of existing products, which led to more feasible concepts.
When developing ideas, meetings where I gathered with club members to exchange opinions were far more helpful than struggling alone. My friends proposed various ideas, such as an automated guided parking system and a Bluetooth-enabled wireless car, while I suggested a digital clock that displays the time, date, and whether it’s day or night. By discussing the pros and cons of each idea and assessing their feasibility through these discussions, the development process became much smoother.
The greatest achievement I gained through club activities was the experience of designing and building an actual product by bridging theory and practice. I realized that without sufficient programming and circuit design skills, there would be limits to implementing my ideas, so I studied diligently to fill those gaps. As a result, I won an award at a competition with the project I submitted and was able to acquire the design and development skills required in the professional world.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
The experience that most vividly demonstrated the meaning of consideration and cooperation during my school years was the campaign to improve school lunches. During my time at school, school lunches were delivered by an outside catering company, but the meals often arrived cold, or soup would spill, causing issues with hygiene and taste. While students often felt dissatisfied, many did not voice their requests for improvement, and I believed it was wrong to passively accept this situation.
To ensure these issues weren’t dismissed as mere individual complaints, I compiled the most serious concerns and submitted them as an official proposal through the student council. I identified three key problems—the rice arriving hard, soup spilling and making it difficult to eat other side dishes, and the poor quality of the kimchi—and created a simple petition form to gather consent from my peers, collecting signatures from about 50 students. When the proposal was submitted as the collective voice of the majority rather than an individual opinion, the school responded proactively.
The school conducted an internal survey, and the results showed that a majority of students were dissatisfied with the school meals. As a result, the lunch provider was changed, and during the selection process for the new provider, several alternatives were presented, followed by a democratic vote. The selected provider even held a kimchi tasting event so that students could sample and evaluate it themselves. I felt a great sense of fulfillment seeing how the small action I led led to an improvement in the dining environment for everyone.
This experience taught me that when I encounter a problem, I should not struggle with it alone but rather persuade those around me to work together and resolve it through established procedures. I also learned that the process of gathering diverse opinions from members and making democratic decisions leads to tangible change.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
Having laid the groundwork by majoring in Electronic Measurement and Control in high school, I sought to grow into a more creative and technology-driven engineer through college. While many of my peers chose to start their own businesses or enter the workforce immediately, I decided to pursue more specialized education in college to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and become a well-rounded engineer. That is why I chose to apply to the Computer Applications program at the University of Technology Education.
The field of Computer Applications has been an area of consistent interest for me since high school. Through my participation in the “Embedded Creativity” club, I deeply realized the importance of programming and embedded software while designing and manufacturing electronic products. To address my weaknesses, I continued studying programming alongside my club activities. As a result, I gained experience developing products based on my own ideas, entering them in competitions, and winning awards.
In college, I plan to focus intensively on engineering drafting and CAD/CAM, especially during my freshman and sophomore years. This will serve as the foundation for design and a step toward building on what I learned in high school in a more specialized manner. Afterward, I intend to thoroughly complete courses in mechanical machining and computer-aided manufacturing related to production engineering to prepare for the microprocessor and control courses I will take in my junior and senior years.
My ultimate goal is to become an expert in laser measurement, signal processing, and measurement applications within the field of production automation. Building on the hands-on experience I gained in high school, my development experience in clubs, and my programming skills, I aim to acquire deeper theoretical knowledge and practical skills in college so that I can grow into an applied engineer capable of contributing in the field.
