안녕하세요~ (Hello) from South Korea! My name is Imari Williams, but my friends call me Mari. It also works as my Korean name. I'm 26 years old, and I'm from Portland, Oregon. At home you can usually find me by the pool coaching my swim team, teaching lessons in the water, watching Korean television dramas with my parents, or visiting the Portland International Rose Test Garden. I recently left my city of roses, my puppy named Christmas and our 16 chickens to spend a year in South Korea at Hanyang University. My two majors (Applied Linguistics and Asian Studies) made it perfect for me to study abroad somewhere, but I chose Korea because I've been teaching myself Korean for the last 12 years. I currently speak eight languages and Korean is one of my favorites. I worked fulltime while studying fulltime to be able to come to Korea. Only a pandemic could delay my plans--just for a year. But now? We're on our way!
Want to know more about how you can study or intern abroad when you are a college student? The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Learn more about the scholarship by clicking here!
