On June 8, SIS’s summer vacation officially started. Screams of “I will make this the best summer ever” and “Yes” were overheard, as students poured out of the high school building. Rising seniors kept true to their words and made their vacations count. From enjoying themselves at concerts, working as interns at companies to participating in street performances, the students engaged in various activities over the summer.
“Going to PSY’s concert was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life,” Katie Lee (12) said. “Initially, I regretted going to the concert because I had to wait under the burning sun for two hours prior to the concert just to get a good spot. But the great time I had at the concert made me forget the pain I endured. PSY’s unceasing energy for four straight hours amazed me. There is no wonder so many people love him. The crowd was drenched from water shooting out of cannons, amazed by the beautiful fireworks, and in awe at Gray, Loco, and Simon Dominic who appeared as PSY’s guest rappers. Time flew by. I didn’t realize four hours had gone by.”
Several students also worked as interns at companies. They sought to get firsthand experiences of what working with professionals is like and to find out whether they would like to major in the specific field they were involved in over the summer.
“I interned at Jincheon National Training Center for a month,” Helaine Lee (12) said. “I worked with employees at Korea Institute of Sport Science (KISS) on sports analytics. For example, I analyzed individual soccer players, such as how many goals they scored and what their dominant foot is. I also used motion cameras to carefully monitor how gymnasts perform certain movements in the air. Since I am a professional figure skater, I have always been interested in sports in general. I learned through this valuable experience that sports analytics is an area that I would like to explore more in the future.”
Other students involved themselves in hobbies that they truly enjoy and feel passionate about. For example, Jessica Ryu (12) held street performances at Hongdae with her friends. Singing both Korean and American songs, Jessica displayed her talents and captivated the audience.
“Since I was young, I really liked singing,” Jessica said. “It’s something that makes me lose track of time. At our first performance, we were scared that no one would watch us, but we had at least 20 people cheering us on. We also had many people giving money to us, which we are going to be donating to help children who came from North Korea.”