Jimin Park, '15 MSIS
Jimin Park,’15 MSIS
“Since I was young I always wanted to study abroad. I used to imagine myself traveling around different countries, studying and experiencing a variety of cultures.” After taking Suneung (the Korean college entrance exam), Jimin Park was introduced to the Keimyung University-Eastern Michigan University Dual Degree program. “Luckily I was accepted into the program, and I started my journey in Ypsilanti in December 2010.”
Two years later, Jimin graduated with her Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with a major in marketing. Shortly after graduation, Jimin returned to South Korea, and her interest in marketing as a career began to shift. “In my last semester of undergraduate school as a marketing major, I had taken one non-major class, which happened to be a CIS web programming class (IS 247 Introduction to Web Application Development). During the semester I found the subject as quite interesting and wanted to learn more about computer information systems. But since I had no knowledge of the subject back then, I had to take some time and invest in building some background on the subject by studying. So I went back to Korea and put some time into it. Studying different IT subjects was challenging at first, but I was able to achieve a few professional certifications such as CCNA, Java, and Oracle DB.”
Jimin had always intended to return to EMU for graduate study, but now felt very confident and excited about her decision to pursue the Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS). Awarded a scholarship based on her excellent bachelor’s degree GPA, she journeyed back to Michigan and enrolled in the MSIS program in January 2014. By taking on a particularly ambitious course schedule, she was able to finish her Master’s degree in just three semesters and graduated in April 2015. Asked about the most impactful graduate class she took in the MSIS program, Jimin replied, “I remember the capstone course {IS 696 Enterprise Information Systems Integration] as the most meaningful. The project itself required all of the knowledge we learned during the program and required us to be involved with steps from the beginning to the end of the information systems project lifecycle. Although it was quite challenging, it was definitely the most valuable experience for me.” Overall Jimin feels the primary skills she gained in her time at EMU were “leadership, communication, teamwork interpersonal, and research skills.”
After graduating with her MSIS degree, Jimin received an offer from Hyundai MOBIS, a global Tier-1 automotive supplier. “Although I didn’t have any internship or professional experience as a software developer at the time, my research experience and broad knowledge on various subjects such as networking, database, programming language, and Linux OS definitely helped me to be considered as a strong candidate. Also, my leadership experience in different EMU student organizations (Korean Student Association, CIS Club, Hansori [a Korean drumming band]), was definitely a positive point for the company.” As a software engineer at the R&D Center located in Plymouth, Michigan, Jimin says her two main responsibilities are to design and develop an in-vehicle infotainment system, and to debug and fix software issues in the system. “I like the fact that software developers can create values only out of 1s and 0s. It’s a value that is being created out of my own knowledge and experiences, which requires continuous designing and debugging efforts. Being in this field is sometimes very demanding since it needs an excessive amount of studying and research time. But at the end of the day, it’s amazing to see that the software I wrote goes into millions of people’s cars!”
Looking back on her EMU experiences, Jimin shared, “I found the faculty at EMU COB very supportive of students. Especially as an international student, I had some times when I needed additional advice or help. EMU faculty were always there to go through my concerns together and supported me in achieving my academic and career goals.” She believes this is a differentiating factor from other universities. “EMU COB offered valuable opportunities for students to get involved with local businesses. For example, as a CIS club member, I was invited to several events where a different type of local business was hosted. Through the session, students were able to ask any questions and have a close conversation with the professionals. I found these activities helpful in getting to know up-to-date professional expectations and some of the detailed steps required to achieve career goals.” For these reasons, she would recommend EMU College of Business to others for graduate study.
Jimin is both wistful and grateful. “These questions made me look back on my days at Eastern, and I really miss those days at the COB. As an alumna, I am always proud of and thankful to EMU for the experiences.”