“I want my mom to live a better life and I want to retire her early, so she can live comfortably.”

Story #49, Angela Kim, Korean-American first-generation college student 

Interview conducted and story written by Selene Ho

Edited by Margharita Marras

When Angela Kim’s mom, Joo, immigrated from Korea to the United States, becoming a medical assistant was not her plan. Unexpectedly, the medical field proved promising, so Joo ended up earning a vocational training degree as a medical assistant. 

For Kim, this means she will be the first person in her family to graduate from a four-year university program in America. Born and raised in Maryland, Kim is currently a sophomore at Boston University studying Health Sciences on a pre-dental track. While Kim faces many challenges entering the medical field as a first-generation student, she also receives much love and support from her family. 

However, Kim has often struggled to connect with her culture, she says: “Growing up in a community with a lack of Asian representation, I feel like I could never truly express myself and really learn about my culture,” Kim said. Though her mom was a Korean native, everything Kim learned was still second-hand knowledge; “I never really got to experience [Korean culture] myself,” she added. Nonetheless, Joo tried hard to keep Korean culture with Kim and her sister by enrolling them into Korean school, where they studied religion and the Korean language. “But I really hated going there, so my mom said I didn’t need to go. I ended up losing everything I learned,” Kim explained. Now, Kim wishes that her mom kept her in Korean school for longer. 

Fortunately, college has been a great opportunity for Kim to find people of similar backgrounds. Since coming to Boston, Kim has met many friends with whom she can practice speaking Korean, and she also reaches out to her mom if she wants to learn certain words or phrases. Despite the disconnect to her culture, Kim said she is “always actively trying to get better.” 

Kim revealed that the motivation behind her tireless efforts to achieve a pre-med degree is her mom. She explained, “I want my mom to live a better life and I want to retire her early, so she can live comfortably.” Though Joo has a stable job as a medical assistant, she faces a great amount of stress Kim explained. “[My mom] was actually opposed to the idea of me going into the medical field because she knows it is a high-stress environment and she didn’t want that being subjected to me,” Kim noted. But Kim still pursues the dental field in hopes of being able to thank her mom, “for everything she had to sacrifice in order to raise [Kim and her sister].”

Kim’s sister has also inspired her to pursue hobbies in beauty. Moreover, Kim’s choice of study was largely inspired by her sister’s interest in beauty. “My mom was there for emotional support, but my sister was the main person who drove me to be who I am,” Kim said. Many of the interests her sister had, such as fashion and makeup, permeated into Kim’s life. “I was a copycat of her. I wanted everything she ever did.” But taking inspiration from her sister became a hobby of her own too. “The more I [got into beauty], the more I realized it was actually fun and a creative way to express myself.” Kim often enjoys doing nail art and designing her own gel nails. 

Kim drew a connection from her interest in beauty to medicine. “The fact that there are so many connections between dentistry and beauty, I feel like that is the best route for me,” Kim stated. Dentistry involves many skills related to nail art and other beauty fields, such as aesthetics, meticulousness, and patience. 

Kim continues to feel great pressure to do well in her studies. She feels that she must succeed and take on the role of the provider for her family, as her older sister was not able to finish university. Kim expressed her anxieties; “If I fail or drop out, I don’t want my failure to be reflected in my mom’s ability to raise kids. I can’t help but think of it as a worst case scenario.” Kim also explained, “[my mom and sister] don’t have high paying jobs, and insurance bills and prices of daily necessities are racking up.” 

Through the ups and downs of being a first-generation college student, Kim stays optimistic for the future. “I feel like my dream is really simple: become a pediatric dentist and help my mom.”