Taradale High School

Seung-ah (Jenny) Hong

Hi, my name is Seung-ah (Jenny) Hong and I am a 4^th year Bachelor of Management (Hons) student majoring in Marketing and French as a second major at University of Waikato. Once I was a student at Taradale High School and in my last year there I was a Head of International students. Taradale High School has provided many great opportunities to improve my leadership and communication skills which enormously helped me when I came to University.

I am currently President of Waikato Association of Korean Students (WAKS) Inc. where I am working with other Korean members to promote Korean culture to the Waikato community. I am also part of the planning team for the New Zealand Republic of Korea (NZROK) Friendship Society. This organisation builds bridges between the Korean and non-Korean community in NZ.

The Corporate Development in AIESEC Waikato Inc. is the largest youth run organisation in the world. My role as a leader in this organisation focuses on providing our members and university students with a variety of personal development opportunities.  Lastly, I am a Residential Assistant at Student Village, one of the Halls of Resident in Waikato University.

Through the University of Waikato I was awarded an overseas academic exchange programme financially supported by Education New Zealand NZUSAA Scholarship and WMS International Exchange Scholarship. I went to Yonsei University (South Korea) 2009 B semesters and University of California Berkeley (USA) in 2010 A semesters.

Thanks to all the experiences and opportunities I had at Taradale High School, I built up my strengths to become a leader in a community I live in. I am proud to be a former Taradale High School student.

Misaki has very happy memories of her year at Taradale High School, and credits that year as life changing for her. She says she arrived a shy, withdrawn student with quite a negative attitude and developed a positive outlook and the confidence to believe in herself and enjoy life. Misaki attributes her enjoyment of the ‘Kiwi Lifestyle’ to her homestay family who ‘were the best in the world and treated me like their real daughter.’

In one year Misaki sat NCEA Level 2 qualifications and achieved excellence in most of her subjects. She has now left high school and is studying law at university in Tokyo. Her plans for the future include working for a Trading Company where she will have the opportunity to travel and use her English skills.