Kangbo Lee

Hello, my name is Kangbo Lee and I am a student of ACG Strathallan College which is located in the southern region of Auckland. It has a pleasant study environment, surrounded by the sea and farmland. The college is quite away from the town which is good because there are no distractions for students. The school provides students with the perfect condition of study. It has been almost 4 years since I came to study here. During this time, a lot of things have happened to me and they have helped me in so many ways.

My first achievement was my improvement of English. Coming to NZ and studying here have greatly contributed to my daily life. I have become more accurate and fluent in speaking. Although my English is not as good as native speakers’, I feel quite confident to use it for communication. Also, I have learnt how to cooperate with others. Unlike Korea, where students are expected to show individualism, people in New Zealand respect and encourage cooperation. This kind of educational attitude enables students to learn how to work with others and also gives them a chance to see issues from a different point of view. Leadership can also be the one of my achievements. In my last year of college, I was able to be part of Senior Student Council. I have learnt that leadership is about responsibility. I got involved in many school events and activities such as the Ball, school production, Cultural Awareness Week and others.

ACG Strathallan, like New Zealand, is a multicultural place. Our International students represent 14 countries. Such a mix of students helps us to appreciate and accept different cultures. To be honest, before I came to New Zealand, it was my belief that people from different cultures cannot fully understand each other. I often had prejudices about other cultures and discriminated them. However, I realized that people can definitely share and understand different cultures regardless to what they know and feel about them.

I have greatly enjoyed my student years at ACG. People do not always recognize how much this period of their lives would influence their future lives. I believe this is the most important period of my life and it is a basic responsibility of student to make the best use of education. In this case, I am very much lucky to have a chance to study overseas and I will make a best use of this opportunity.