International Won-Mo Scholarship Recipients Thrive at Their New University
Exciting things are happening at Sun Moon University! The first group of students to receive the International Won-Mo scholarship from True Mother, have been hard at work!
Sun Moon University strives to be a world-class institution that focuses on raising global leaders according to True Parents’ ideals. With this new scholarship, the path has been opened for even more students to engage in this unique academic environment. So far, 76 students from 26 countries have taken advantage of the opportunity, and the program seems to be growing every term. It is a dynamic program that allows students to hone their academic skills while also deepening and cultivating their faith within a nurturing and supportive community.
True Mother has invested a great deal into the education of second generation, and the University understands that they are not just educating minds, but they hope to play a part in shaping the future leaders of Cheon Il Guk (God’s Heavenly Kingdom). In a recent address to the students, the President laid out the three goals of the program:
- Study True Parents’ words and establish a life of faith as the owner of Cheon Il Guk.
- Study the Korean language in order to inherit True Parents’ tradition and culture.
- Establish your own expertise in your field.”
He went on to say that, “every student has been endowed with special gifts, talents, and skills through Heavenly Parents. It is our earnest hopes that working together, we can help the students embrace the heart of True Parents as they develop their unique gifts in harmony with the ideal of heaven.”
The devoted staff and teachers are fully committed to helping students achieve these goals and see themselves in a kind of parental role, in how they care for the students. Many of the students have already experienced profound value in being able to learn Korean and be immersed in the culture. You can read more about their experience, in these personal testimonies.
Since coming to Korea, I have been having an incredible experience learning the Korean language in the Korean Language Institute at Sun Moon University. Contrary to some of my prior doubtful thinking, after coming here I was delightfully surprised and even a little overwhelmed at the level of investment and care the teachers exhibited toward myself and each student, which is evident in the fluency levels of the graduates and long-time students here. There is a certain culture of warmth and caring in the Institute that I had never experienced in public schools in America before. It is plain to see for anyone who comes here that teaching is more than just a nine-to-five job for them; they really have a passion for sharing the Korean language with the world. Being in Korea has been a blast and I’m excited to improve my Korean even more so I can experience firsthand the heart of the Korean culture.-Daniel Legay
Being able to come to Korea has been a blessing in and of itself. I had grown up hearing stories of how we had to learn Korean because it is True Father’s language but I never thought that I would actually have to opportunity to do so. It was only after I was matched and Blessed to a Korean that I realized that somewhere down the road of life I would have to learn how to read, write and speak Korean. However, it has been more than just a wonderful experience; it has become a life lesson. I finally got the chance to truly understand what True Father meant when he talked about having a culture of family and carrying a heart of filial piety and sincerity. I was not only immersed in that culture but came to understand why he talked so much about it and why it meant so much to him for us to learn it. It is not because we are lacking in culture or a way of life, but simply because it gives you a chance to understand God’s heart and the heart of a parent. Learning that heart of giving and serving your elders comes not just out of duty but out of a deep love and respect for the people that have raised you up to be the person that you are now. It is through this that I have learned, not just through words but through watching the actions of others, what it means to have filial piety towards your parents, and it has changed the way I will look at my parents forever. The culture and language of Korea, if truly understood, can teach you so much about the depth of heart, a heart that cannot be explained in any other language.– Sara Davis, Hawaii, age 19
It’s been three months since I came to learn the Korean language in Korea. Honestly, I still cannot believe that I’m here in Korea and studying at the famous Sun Moon University. I’m already 32 years old. More than 9 years ago I graduated and now I’m a student again! My old dream was to study in Korea, and now it has been realized. I’m so happy. Once again I realized for myself that the main thing is to have a dream in your own life, want to learn something new, want to grow more and more and suddenly in our life, miracles can happen. I am here, so it is my miracle’s story!
Among our students I am one of the “youngest.” Because I’m older than the others, have maybe more life experience, have a family and I also a monitor in my class, that’s why I should be an example for the younger students. Therefore I’m trying to study harder than others. I have only one year to learn the Korean language, so I spend a lot of my free time studying. It’s not easy to keep some standard but anyway I am really enjoying my time here. If you have a dream and you are happy, then life isn’t hard.
Of course, there are many foreign students here, my new friends, so I can be open to other countries and learn to understand people of different cultures. For me this is a very valuable experience which I couldn’t experience anywhere else. Here I can feel a different atmosphere and see the relations between people on a different level. I really appreciate that many of my friends I’m studying with here maintain a healthy lifestyle, and are very friendly and open. I feel really free here and can smile to every (even unknown to me) person in the street and get a smile in response.
The most valuable thing I learned after three months of staying here is that we must learn not just a foreign language, but also the language of love, the language of harmonious relationships with other people. I can’t forget the idea I heard from a teacher during one of our Korean lessons: “Only a man who knows not only grammar and words, but may also express his deep emotions through the language, can really speak the language.” So one of my goals here is to learn the language of Shim-Jung. Thank you.– Tymofyeyev Oleksandr, Ukraine
My name is Yumi Angolio and I was blessed to receive the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation scholarship. I came to Korea on the 26th of December 2013. My initial reaction when I got the message that I was accepted was absolute joy. I was overjoyed simply because I would have the chance to learn the Korean language, be on the spot for all the church functions and Cheong Pyeong would not seem so far away anymore. As soon as I arrived, classes were already ongoing and I realized that the Korean language was harder than I had anticipated. The classes were also really fast-paced and we had to memorize a lot of words and there were mini-tests on a daily basis. Not only that, it was the winter season, so the cold was setting in. Everything seemed so foreign, but somehow I felt at home. Despite all that, we did our best to adjust.
In no time we were looking forward to Foundation Day. A few weeks earlier we were asked to present something for True Mother, so we had been practicing two songs: “Saranghae” and “I Have a Dream.” February 9, 2014 will remain the most memorable day for most of us this year. We travelled to Cheon Jeong Gung for the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation function. Many other scholarship recipients were present as well. When our time came to present, we could not hide the joy in our faces. The songs just came out so beautiful. The smile on True Mother’s face was so beautiful. She was simply beaming. When she came on stage to give her speech, she mentioned our songs and we could not hide how happy we were. You could hear giggles from where we were seated. Just the blessing of being able to see True Mother up close, singing for her—and also we each had written a letter expressing our gratitude to True Mother and these too were presented to her—made coming to Korea worth it. For me on that day two of my dreams came true. I had a chance to sing for True Mother and present a letter to her in Korean.
Despite the tough times we experience here, there is so much joy as well. For this year my goal is to study the Korean language diligently and to make Heavenly Parent, True Parents, my family and myself proud. I choose to be happy and learn and grow as much as I can and make my time in Korea valuable.– Yumi Angolio, Kenya
First of all, I want to express my deepest gratitude to our Heavenly Parents and True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind and also Malaysia’s former national leader, Rev. Sam Yeoh Koay Seng. Because of them, I am able to be in the Fatherland of our faith, Korea.
I graduated from high school in December 2012. From January to March 2013, I served in the Malaysian National Service. After I completed my training, the result of my Malaysian Certificate of Education was released. My result was really beyond my expectation and everyone was happy for me. And at that time when I was deciding which college to go to, the news about the Wonmo Pyeongae Foundation scholarship was given to my father from our former national leader. My father’s reaction at that time was, “Thank you, Heavenly Parents! This is the way you have shown us.” He immediately told me about this and we decided to apply for this scholarship. While waiting for the reply regarding the scholarship, I attended Form 6 (Malaysian Advanced Certificate of Education). After two months of waiting, our former national leader talked to us again and we decided to apply again for the scholarship. This time I was really serious about the application, so I stopped my studies to concentrate on preparing for this application. My family and I went through lots of trials to get the needed documents done. …Read more and view photo album.– Leong Zhi Shu, Malaysia
I am very grateful to our Heavenly Parents and True Parents for this opportunity. I graduated from high school July of last year. My parents contemplated a lot about what university I should attend. We heard about the scholarship from True Mother and my parents thought it was a really good opportunity for me to learn Korean and be closer to our True Mother. At first I didn’t understand why I should go somewhere so far away from my family and people I knew. However, during the admission process, we were told that we had to wait, and I ended up waiting for six months. During this time, I thought deeply and then I realized why True Mother gave the scholarship. Eventually, even though there were a few complications, I made it here. I’m really happy because there are lots of 2nd generation from different countries all over the world. I received love from everyone and I felt the purity of their hearts. I recently wrote my level-up test and it was great. I’m looking forward to learning more Korean.– Ami Smart, Nigeria
Hello everyone. I am Mahogany Lambert and I have been living in South Korea for about 7 months now. I don’t know why I came to Korea. I did it “on a whim” because I felt like this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I would probably regret not doing in the future. Being here, though, I have had many magical experiences such as learning how to get around the area that I am living in as well as accepting the fact that Netflix and Hulu are blocked in this country. I have also had the opportunity to make wonderful and close friendships with people from many different countries, cultures and backgrounds. Studying the Korean language is quite difficult for me because I must work very hard in order to pass the exams, but through these hardships I have learned the importance of self-discipline and having fun. I am grateful to be here in Korea and to learn a lot about myself and others. I am also grateful to my parents who have supported me all the way through and who are still hanging on. Thank you.– Mahogany Lambert, Arizona, age 21