For my future

First of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Ashley Suh and I am a 2nd-year student studying Cognitive Science at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Cognitive Science is quite a broad field, focusing on the cognitive aspect of psychology with multiple interdisciplinary fields such as evolution, AI/HCI, linguistics, and philosophy. As someone who is interested in both psychology and AI, I chose cognitive science as my major in hopes of broadening my career interests. I plan to graduate in the Spring of 2024 and either go to graduate school or focus on UX and build my portfolio. In the long term, I aspire to become a successful UX researcher or designer, and potentially join an established company and receive a gratifying salary. I hope to be able to directly apply what I learned at school to real-life practices and build a network with professionals in the field I’m interested in. I am still wavering between career options which is why I look forward to gaining more experience with UX and marketing this summer in Barcelona, Spain.

I’ve always wanted to study abroad since middle school, in Korea actually. But because I have family residing there and cultural background, I wanted to experience something different and spontaneously decided on Barcelona. With three years of learning Spanish in high school, I hope to utilize the language and speak more fluently in Spanish while I’m there. Especially because working as a professional in the field of Psychology and Cognitive Science in California, it is important for me to continue to know multiple languages for a broad audience. It would be my first visit to Barcelona and I am convinced that this opportunity is to be a culturally immersing experience, from which I hope to gain expertise in a range of networking abilities as well as extend my cultural and objective viewpoint.

We often find ourselves blessed with numerous opportunities that shape our future and pave the way for success. And behind every opportunity are the unwavering support and sacrifices of our parents. As a first-generation student, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to my parents for encouraging my dreams and goals. I also want to thank the donors for providing me with funds to lessen the financial burden I place on my parents and the overall program fee costs. An additional note for those interested in studying abroad, but are worried about the budget, I encourage you to look into scholarships and financial aid provided by the school. As I too had the same worries but am submitting scholarship applications, working part-time, and getting closer to achieving my financial needs. Follow along with my experience in Barcelona, Spain on my blog via the FEA website!