Everything just fell into place

I was born in Korea, but moved to the island of Saipan when I was five years old to live with my grandparents, cousin and sister. Saipan is a U.S. territory, so I learned English and received an American education. When my cousin graduated high school, he moved to Washington to attend UW. Coming from a Christian family, he attended a Korean Church. People from that church told my cousin about SPU and my cousin suggested that I apply. SPU was the only American college I applied to, and I didn’t think it would be possible to attend financially. So I planned to attend college in Korea. Fortunately, during my senior year of high school, my mock trial team won regionals, and the government funded a trip to nationals in the states. The competition was held in Boise, Idaho, and we were to stop somewhere on the West Coast during the trip. Coincidentally, we ended up stopping in Seattle. During the trip, I had planned to visit SPU, and my coach promised to drive me. However, something ended up happening, and my coach could no longer take me. I told my international admissions counselor, who I was supposed to meet, that I was sorry, but I couldn’t get to campus. I really wanted to go to SPU, but it just seemed like nothing was working out. Then, my admissions counselor asked where I was and came to pick me up. My admissions counselor told me there was a scholarship/grant that I could qualify for when I visited. Everything just fell into place for me to move to Seattle and attend SPU. It was a crazy process, but I was never too worried because I knew God had a plan for me. My faith is even stronger now because of this experience.