Share a personal achievement or milestone you reached during this semester, whether academic, personal, or extracurricular. How did you celebrate or acknowledge this accomplishment, and what did it mean to you?

My best accomplishment this semester was getting used to being a KAIST student. It is nothing big, but I am proud of myself. Maybe I can celebrate it by enjoying the summer break. - (Minsol Bang, School of Freshman)

I have just received my "low-cost plan" Korean phone number a few days back. Of course with the privilege that comes along with it, I have spent most of my days last week ordering takeout, connecting personal information, and receiving promos from apps. Having a phone number reminds me of both the convenience of technology and the ruthless capitalistic schemes of South Korea. - (Anonymous, Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering)

Sadly, I was severely injured just before school began due to an accident. I couldn't attend the freshmen entrance ceremony, along with all the other festivals and events that were held. I tried my best to recover quickly and was able to return to school after 4 weeks without any chronic aftereffects. I am truly grateful to my parents who devoted all of their time to taking care of me, and to the warm messages from my friends. I am trying my best to enjoy the rest of the semester, and 'again' learned that human bodies are fragile. - (Woojin Park, School of Freshman)

This semester I was able to balance studying and social life pretty well compared to my last semester, so I am happy with that. I have been rewarding myself by giving short breaks on weekends throughout the semester. - (Anonymous, School of Electrical Engineering)

My goal this semester was to read a book every week. I couldn’t read a book every week, but I still managed to read 6 books which I am happy about. I didn’t decide how I would celebrate this though. - (Anonymous, Department of Biological Sciences)

One personal achievement that I reached this semester was in terms of my work-life balance. [In previous semesters], I focused on extracurricular activities and prioritized my social life over anything else, but struggled with procrastination. However, this semester, I tried to maintain a balance of both and succeeded. Getting good scores encouraged me to work harder and further explore my field of interest, and though my meetups with friends were less frequent, they were more meaningful. Although I'm far from perfect, I've learnt many valuable lessons — the biggest one being that we need to start somewhere. No matter how little you have achieved or got done, just start it right there and then. You'll get somewhere! - (Mahnoor Shafiq, School of Computing)

One personal achievement that I reached this semester was successfully completing a challenging research project in my major. It required a lot of time, effort, and dedication, but I was able to see it through and produce meaningful results. To celebrate this accomplishment, I decided to treat myself to a weekend getaway with some close friends. I really enjoy hiking, so we went hiking in Seoul to Bukhansan Peak. - (Anonymous, Department of Mechanical Engineering)

So, this semester, I totally nailed the whole study-life balance thing. Unlike last time, I managed to juggle my academics and social life pretty well. And you know what? I treated myself to some awesome weekend breaks throughout the semester as a celebration. It meant a lot because it showed me that I can handle it all and still have a good time. - (Anonymous, School of Freshman)

Firstly, I received my first (maybe the only) Dean’s list for Fall 2022, which feels like a culmination of my hard work. I also got the chance to become an Edu 4.0 TA for the Organic Chemistry 1 course, which was one of the aspirations I had in mind before coming to KAIST. Becoming KISA’s Vice President was also a memorable achievement for me, because it means to me that I’ve been acknowledged for my efforts in KISA and can now use my experiences to help out. Lastly, I’m proudest of having lost 15 kilograms during the semester because my physical appearance is something I’ve been struggling with since middle school — the confidence I gained from this carried me throughout the semester and opened my eyes to opportunities I didn’t know existed. - (Photsawee Faengpong, Department of Chemistry)