It's already been two months since the official opening of our GVCS Pennsylvania Campus. After a year of trial period, the campus now has more than thirty students from Mungyeong, Eumsung and Indonesia. Many are curious, often inquiring about our school. Honestly speaking, it is very difficult to understand our students' living conditions, learning experiences, and their activities without actually coming to this place personally. Nevertheless, I'd like to unveil some of the mysteries and try to introduce our campus through this article.
The Scotland Campus, where our GVCS Penn. Camp. is located, had once been a home to another school and is already equipped with useful facilities that are available for various activities. Hidden throughout those facilities are beautiful views of nature and secret hideouts. While immersed in their rigorous schoolwork, the students are bound to feel the need to escape from complicated problems from time to time. In those times, students can always grab their things and take off to their own secret hideouts. Some head towards the railroad down the narrow path beside the gym, some go to the secret garden behind the chapel, while others move their steps to the empty basketball court behind the cottages. These silent and peaceful places become students' playgrounds and napping spots, greatly helping the students be relieved of their stress and concerns. As such, we at GVCS Penn Camp. live in harmony with nature.
On the other side of the nature-friendly lifestyle is the busy and arduous life of students with schoolwork and other activities. In addition to their academic works, the students are required to be active in extra-curricular activities such as student council, taekwondo demonstration, worship team, soccer team, club activities, dual course program with Shippensburg University, local nursing home volunteering and Bible study at local churches. The variety allows the students to take anywhere between one to five activities as time allows.
Last on the list is our dormitory system, which is somewhat different from GVCS campuses in Korea. In Korea, there are two large buildings, one for boys and one for girls, where all of the students live together. However, the dorms in our campus are small cottages, which limits the number of students that can live together. These smaller cottages naturally create a family-like environment, which results in the students having more opportunites to draw closer to each other. The living rooms and kitchens are also positive additions to the students' lifestyle as they cook and watch TV, allowing them to study and dream in freedom.
For those of you with unsatisfied curiosity about GVCS Pennsylvania Campus, here are some interviews with the students and teachers.
Q. Hello! Nice to meet you all. We are journalists from The Lucent. We want to know our students' opinion about our school in general. What are some of the differences between our campus and the Korean campuses? Also, please share with us in detail your vision or what you want to be in future. Lastly, please share what you want to accomplish at this campus.
Sungeun Kim (9th grade): I am really satisfied with the school life in general, especially the fact that we can cook in the dormitory because we can share tasty foods with other friends. Also, there is a fitness club in the campus, so we can take care of our health more effectively. A different thing from Korean campuses is that we can use our cell phones every Saturday and go to Target every Sunday to buy our necessities. I want to study law and become an international lawyer. I want to be a global person, befitting GVCS. Beside law, I'm also interested in communications. While I'm here, I want to enjoy everything I can enjoy, do my best at what I have to do, and always give thanks about everything.
Miyeon Lee (11th grade): GVCS Penn. Camp. is awesome! First, I like how I can eat a lot of tasty foods. In Korean campuses, students only eat meals served in the cafeteria, but we go eating outside sometimes here. Also, in Korea, we have to go to labs to use computers but we can use our own laptops in the dorms here, which saves time from moving around. I want to be a medicine researcher and help other people. Also, I want to use my talent in singing and be in worship ministry, or try being a musical actor. My aim while in this school is to get a 4.0 GPA, do well on the SAT, and go to best university I can, so I could live the path of righteousness.
Dawon Hong (9th grade): The greatest advantage is the comfortable school schedule. I have time to develop my talents since I'm not busy all the time. Compared to Korean campuses, it's a lot more comfortable here. In Korea, we are always concerned about studying, relationships with friends and teachers, and dormitory life, but we do not have to invest much time to solve such problems here because everyone treats each other very well. I want to be a white hacker or a military official. I think if I could successfully adapt to the lifestyle here, I'll do very well. My goal is to be diligent in everything.
Jongsuk Kim (the staff of dormitory): The school life in USA campus is very suitable for the students. We have a small number of students, which makes it very easy to make a family-like environment. That helps us bring peace to our school. My greatest desire is to become a minister, although if you think about it, my job as the dean of the dormitory is already a ministry itself. To share another one of my dreams, I want to open a restaurant where people can come to replenish both their bodies and souls. I would share with my customers not only meals, but also the gospel. My goal is to live everyday as if it is the last day of my life and also to help every student meet and have faith in Jesus Christ personally.
Hyewon Lee is an 11th grade student at Global Vision Christian School.
