Jae-Min Lee

UWC attended: Armand Hammer United World College - USA
Class Year: Class of 2016

To start off, I’m a New Zealander (kiwi for short) and was born and raised in New Zealand, but my family is Korean. The first time I left New Zealand was to attend the United World College (UWC) in New Mexico.

One of the striking things about the UWC was that I could just walk into a common room and it was perfectly normal to encounter a serious (or light hearted) conversation that factored in so many diverse perspectives, owing to the varied backgrounds in education, lifestyle and experiences that the people brought to the conversation. Those moments, along with many of the smaller things that made up my time at UWC are probably going to be as memorable and significant as any other major event that I experienced there.

After whittling down the long list of potential universities, I settled on Lewis & Clark. A whole combination of factors drew me to the school, and it certainly feels right that I’ll be going there. While I’m not too sure about majors, I am leaning towards psychology and the humanities.

Having had the chance to explore the beauty of the American Southwest, I’m looking forward to exploring the wilderness that my time at Lewis & Clark will expose me to. Projects pursuing sustainability are another one of my interests, and a lot of my time is also taken up by Buddhist related things.  I also enjoy exploring the rich tea cultures of the world; a simple cup of tea isn’t as simple as it seems.