Sangwon Lee is a first-year Ph.D. Student from Korea who is dedicated to achieving her Doctorate in Social Work so she can help others succeed.
What has been your favorite part of your UT experience so far?
After I’ve received my master’s in Social work in Korea, I volunteered at international communities for people with developmental disabilities in Ireland and Germany. Those facilities welcomed volunteers who came from all around the world in recognition of the wonderful work they were doing granting vulnerable people life skills, dignity, and joy. Organizing celebrations that gave the residents such happiness, with volunteers from every corner of the world, I felt the true spirit of community.
What drew you to pursue a degree in social work?
My journey to becoming a social worker began after I graduated college and became a physical therapist in 2007. As a physical therapist, I once spent two years teaching a little girl to walk. I expected a joyous celebration when she was finally able to take her first steps, but soon realized that her physical impairments were not all that was holding her back. The biggest problem was that she wouldn’t be able to attend a ‘normal’ high school, wouldn’t be able to get a job after graduation, and wouldn’t be able to live in the community independently. This experience taught me that medical interventions are just one part of rehabilitation and we need programs that psychologically intervene to help people with special needs, policies for careers that ensure employment opportunities are all necessary components of an inclusive society.
What are you interested in doing once you graduate?
I am quite open to my future career. And I believe this is a benefit that we have as a person who is dedicated in social work. Teaching at university would be interesting. Working in the Government sector would be meaningful, or even I can start a new NGO. Wherever I will be, whatever I will do, I want to contribute to building a better community for the vulnerable.
I am the first person in my family to graduate from college. I am Korean and I am a non-native English speaker. The fact that I am studying here shows how much I have personally benefitted from the spirit of inclusion and diversity. I am living proof that more of us than ever have bright futures. I am dedicated to achieving a Ph.D. in Social Work, so I can help others succeed, in the way that I myself have been helped.