With the dawn of 2012, changes were bound to happen in many of the student clubs and organizations, and the KAIST International Student Association (KISA) was no exception. But this time, the changes meant that KISA would get a completely new look; for the first time in the history of the organization, a female president was elected, and she also happens to be academically younger than all her predecessors. The decision to give the opportunity to the “youngster” was also a technical necessity - all the senior members of the cabinet have either served as President before or are one semester away from graduation– but it is unprecedented nonetheless.

 This has led to the decision to pave the way for sophomores and juniors to become the President. After Nayan Kalita completed his term as President of KISA from January to December 2011, he left a trail for his successors to follow him. During his tenure, he accomplished a lot of things in his constant strive for the betterment of the international student society. After his term, Su Yi Wong, a sophomore from Malaysia, has stepped into his boots to take up the responsibility of being the President of KISA. Immediately after taking up her position, she had a major overhauling of the existing cabinet.

Now, her cabinet includes the right mix of experienced as well as young candidates. A careful examination of the working style of KISA until December 2011 shows how most of the activities were conducted on a year by year, routine basis. Su Yi, however, has decided to reach out to the international community in a better way, and this has given rise to many new activities that are being planned for the first time in the history of KISA. Apart from this, Su Yi was instrumental in strengthening KISA’s collaboration with the International Student Organization (ISO) and MANNAM, a non–profit organization based in Daejeon that helps the city’s international students. This is the first time that KISA has been able to collaborate on such a large scale.

KISA Activities Planned for Spring Semester 2012
February
  • - Orientation Program
  • - Valentine's Day Special Movie Nights
  • - Recruitment
  • - Start of Korean classes by MANNAM
March
  • - E-Gaming
  • - Pocha Party (in collaboration with ISO)
  • - DMZ Trip (in collaboration with ISO)
April
  • - Strawberry Festival
  • - Food Festival
  • - Pohang and Gyeongju Trip (in collaboration with ISO)
May
  • - BBQ Picnic

This is also the first time that such exhaustive and precise planning has been done for KISA activities. At this middle point of the 2012 Spring semester, a review of the past activities would help throw some light on how Su Yi managed to reach out to the international community. Firstly, starting with the orientation program, Su Yi proved that she has leadership qualities, which was very clear in the way she conducted herself in organizing it. It also showed how keen she was to get support from the Office for Advising & Support for International Students, the International Relations Team and ISO. Into mid–February this year, an event was organized for Valentine’s Day. This event, the first of its kind from KISA, marked a new era for the organization in the way that it reached out to the international community. The Valentine’s Day event was well-received by not only the international students but also their Korean counterparts. It was for the first time that a foreign movie was screened at the start of the semester since the inception of Movie Nights two years ago. Next in line was the recruitment of new members for KISA and E–Gaming (aka SHUT UP n PLAY). Both events were held almost simultaneously and it was very good to see that a sizeable number of students turned up for both. With the success of the previous events, KISA is all set to make its mark on the student community under a visionary president. 

 

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