As second semester approaches, upperclassmen may find themselves spending more and more time and energy considering their futures after graduation. Many may find themselves

situated under a cloud of ambiguity. For students whose original homes are outside this country, their situations may be even more complicated when it comes to making decisions about their futures.

This is why Min Woo Heo decided to create the Calvin College Korean Alumni Association. He shares his own experiences that led him to the decision to found the network:

“After graduation in 2009, I came back to Korea straight away, and I tried to get some information regarding the military and jobs, but I found absolutely no connections or information. I suffered a lot from the lack of connection, and I decided that this should never be the experience of students in the future, so I decided to make an alumni association and share as [much] information as I could regarding what [Calvin alumni] can do in Korea.”

Paul Whang, the current head of the network, also shed some light on the necessity andpracticality of a Korean Alumni Association:

“Most of the Korean students [at] Calvin are international students. In other words, after graduation they need a working visa to stay in the States and get a job. However, most of the time companies choose not to give working visas to internationals … As such, many of the Korean Calvin grads don’t have any other options but to live in Korea. The issue with this is that many of the Korean Calvin students are either missionary kids who lived outside of Korea their whole life, or who studied abroad away from Korea.

“Therefore, they don’t have much information about living in Korea, and they don’t have people who can provide that information. I guess you can think of us as the ‘We-Haul’ for those moving into the real world in Korea. This year, we’ve been trying to provide a community and promote a sense of belonging. Our goal is to provide them with a family-like organization that they are familiar with and feel safe in.  Also, another benefit is sharing information with people.

There [have] been some job postings that were on our Facebook page, and some of the members actually found paying jobs through that. Also, because we know who is in which field, members can approach one another to seek information about the field that they are interested in.”

Heo mentioned the diversity of job options provided to Korean alumni because of the network:

“Before myself, all the members exclusively worked in either ministry

or education, since [this was] the easiest way to find a job, but after me, more people are

challenging the secular area. I see God is using us individuals in a variety of ways, since we

help one another out.”  

Since its founding in 2013, the network has grown from about 30 to over 300 members. Facebook has served as one of the main mediums of communication and connection for the network, and the Facebook page currently has over 300 members. However, Paul Whang and others in the association hope to reach more and more students and envision more effective modes of communication.

“In order to reach more people, we are seeking other ways to connect them. Oneof the project[s] that is under planning is to make a ‘Kakao Talk’ group chatting room. … People can simply provide us with their IDs for the app, and we add them to our group.” They hope to eventually create an easily-accessible directory of members.

As a new network, the Korean Alumni Association has faced its own difficulties, but theyhave seen God’s provision through the challenges they face:

“Running this association and hosting three to four events a year does require money. We are an organization still taking our baby steps, and many times fulfilling our monetary needs in hosting events is difficult. However, every time God was there to provide for our needs, and through that experience we know that He will provide for us in the future as well. Although we are not in a comfortable position in terms of our financial needs, God is pushing us to find ways to give more. We are pushing forward a project to establish a scholarship for the current Korean students at Calvin. We hope to see how God works in that project.”

Whang added, “ ‘Calvin College Korean Alumni Association’ does say ‘Korean Alumni,’ but we are part of Calvin Alumni Association, and we are more than willing to connect with non-Korean students as well as alumni. This coming January, we will be hosting a dinner for the students who are coming to Korea for the Korean Interim class. As such, we enjoy connecting with Calvin, and we feel that we need more of that here in Korea, miles away from Grand Rapids, Michigan.”