Leo Song, a graduate student studying Physical Therapy at the College of Staten Island, recently participated in a postgraduate and career strategy panel hosted by the Northeastern Chapter of the Korea American Scholarship Foundation.

Leo Song recently participated in a panel hosted by the Northeastern Chapter of the KASF.

“I felt proud to represent the CUNY Graduate Center/CSI,” Song said. “Although CSI is not a private school, I wanted to show to the community that anyone can receive a world-class education in a CUNY institution without breaking the bank, especially during this [difficult] economic time.”

According to a KASF statement, the goal of the panel was “to create a public forum to engage a broader audience in the New York metropolitan area…[providing] productive dialog amongst the panelists to share their reflection and advice regarding graduate school studies and professional careers.”

The panel, moderated by Soojin S. Oh, a Doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, was divided into two sections. The first consisted of KASF scholarship recipients, who are studying law, physical therapy, social work, and education, discussing how their commitment to and participation in community and civic service impacted all aspects of their graduate school experience, from the application process, through graduate studies, to their career goals.

Students from Columbia and Harvard universities also participated in this portion of the panel.

Section two of the panel featured KASF Board members William Y. Kim, JD, Partner, Ropes & Gray; and Dan Pyo, Physician, MD, Plastic Surgery Center of New Jersey, who offered their professional insights regarding career choices in medicine and law, as well as their commitment to serve not only the Korean American population but the community at large.

According to the KASF statement, the organization was “founded in 1969 as a nation-wide, non-profit, and volunteer-managed organization [and] seeks to provide financial assistance to those Korean American students in higher education who have demonstrated rigorous academic and personal achievement and strong commitment to community and civic service in developing their leadership skills.”

As for Song, he hopes to further his community-minded efforts, once he graduates. “My plan after graduation is to help people as a physical therapist,” he noted. “As of now, I am not sure which physical therapy setting I’d be working in. However, no matter where I end up, I will always strive to pursue excellence and reach the pinnacle of my field.”