Student Spotlight: Jeong K
““I have received so much kindness and support from teachers, volunteers,
and neighbors, and now volunteering feels like a way to give that back."
~Jeong
Jeong, a student in our ESOL 4-5 class and now also a volunteer, came to Seattle from Korea four years ago, bringing with her a love of nature, a spirit of curiosity, and a remarkable willingness to learn. While living on Jeju Island, she even helped build her own home with family and friends, a reflection of the same openness to learning that continues to shape her life today. Through Literacy Source, Jeong has strengthened her English, expanded her perspective, and found a community where people from many backgrounds can share their stories and see that their lives matter.
What would you like to tell us about yourself?
I live in Seattle with my family, including two dogs and two cats. I came from Korea four years ago. Before coming here, I lived in Jeju island. I loved Jeju because, one thing about me, I like to live with nature. I was born and raised in Seoul, the capital city, where there are a lot of buildings, so I moved to Jeju island, and lived there for 13 years. It has tropical weather, beautiful mountains and sea, and nature. And I love this about Seattle too. We moved to Seattle because of my husband’s job. I choose Seattle because I like rain, and I love the nature.
I like learning something. For example, when I was there in Jeju island, I learned how to build a house, so I build my home with my family and friends. That was a very great experience for me, and after that, I met my two dogs and two cats on the streets. I learned how to knit, I like learning things, which is why I have been learning here at Literacy Source. I love that about LS.
Why did you decide to take classes at Literacy Source?
I decided to take this class because of the recommendation from Britt at the library. I started Winter 2025. At the time, I was very shy and very depressed. I felt my confidence to speak English was so low, so I think “Why am I doing things here?”, but after taking this class, I really glad to join this class, and really I am glad to say thank you to Britt.
What have you learned in your time with Literacy Source and why is it important in your life?
I like this class, and through this class, I have been learning so much. I can feel my English is improving, every month, and I learned how to write an essay. I learned how to discuss with my classmates from other countries; it’s a very great experience. I learned a lot of cultural diversity at Literacy Source. It really expanded my perspective. Thanks so much to the teachers, students, and volunteers.
I wrote an essay about microplastics: pollution in the sea and wrote about it for my problem and solution essay. I was a little surprised about what I found out, a very funny and scary thing: We found out that one plastic card like a credit card, we eat the equivalent of that each week. Drinking water, eating seafood, microplastics are found ANYWHERE!
What is your experience being a volunteer?
I’d like to volunteer in any organization, but I didn't know until Britt asked me about being a classroom volunteer, so I said: “I’d love to!” At first, I was very nervous and: “Is it possible?”, but now I’m in my fifth week, and I feel it’s very exciting, and very worthy. My favorite thing is I can support other classmates' work, writing things, or if they ask: “What is this?”, I should explain, so my English is improving, and that is a very powerful motivation. I have been a student here for around one year, and I also received a lot of help from assistants and teachers, so I realized it’s really about making relationships and getting to know one another.
What do you like about Literacy Source?
I like that LS provides learning English for free, that is very important. Because of that reason, I can meet other people, various friends or teachers or volunteers, from different countries, so I can encounter the diversity at Literacy Source. While the community college's ESOL courses focus more on academic improvement for University, at Literacy Source, I can learn English and we can share our unique stories and our lives with classmates and other friends. I think that is very good for us as immigrants, as students, as grown ups, we can share our life stories and how our life matters. I think this is very important and is a very unique point of Literacy Source, and different from the college ESOL classes.
What are your goals or hopes for the future?
My short-term goal is to finish this quarter well as a student volunteer, it’s very important for me. After this, I hope to continue this volunteering for the future, in different roles or organizations. I have received so much kindness and support from other teachers and Literacy Source and from my neighbors, and I really want to return that, so volunteering is a very good opportunity to give back to the community. Maybe next year or in two years, I would like to get a job, maybe an entry level job or a part-time job. I think that will be a challenge for my life.