Paris Irizarry, a junior majoring in both global affairs and Korean studies at George Mason, came to Mason Korea in Fall 2019 as a study abroad student. Coming to Korea was a long-held goal, which finally materialized at George Mason when his friend suggested that they go. They started attending meetings with the Korea Campus Coordinator, Grace Lee, and the rest is history.
Paris hit the ground running as soon as he arrived. After an eventful semester, he decided to stay one more semester to experience more of what only Mason Korea can offer. “My experience so far has been quite different from Fairfax, but in a good way. Mason Korea has a smaller campus than Fairfax, which means it's easier to connect and make friends. This is what made my experience a wholesome one.” Paris loves the fact that students have easy access to the friendly faculty and staff when it comes to concerns they may have. At the larger Fairfax campus, the faculty and staff have to make time for students.
Before coming to Korea, Paris self-taught Korean for two years before formally taking Korean classes during his first two years at the Fairfax campus. He learned Korean language, history, literature, culture, and media. “I would say that it was the perfect preparation before coming to Mason Korea. Here, my friends would continue to teach me new things and build up on the knowledge that I already knew. But because I was in Korea, I could actually implement what I learned from my friends which helped me in a lot of situations.”
When it comes to school activities, Paris was very much involved with Mason Korea’s English Chat Club in the fall. This allowed him to meet a lot of Korean friends that love practicing their English with him while teaching him about cultural aspects of Korea. It was a natural exchange.
These relationships proved to be beneficial when Paris stepped up as a Peer Advisor in the spring semester. A Peer Advisor (PA) is a key student position that helps students become more engaged with the University’s activities and events as a representative of the Office of Student Affairs. “The best part of this role is when they [my Korean friends] frequently visit our PA office to talk comfortably about social life or academics. I was able to better understand Korea and Korean culture.”
Paris continues to be fascinated by the fact that the Korea campus is different from Fairfax in many ways, but still offers its own form of diversity and community. At Mason Korea, Paris had opportunities to meet both international and Korean students who have different backgrounds, struggles, and experiences that define each of them as unique individuals. “Something that I learned at Mason Korea is that everyone is different, but that is something that you cannot take from them. And it is nothing to fear, but instead something to celebrate.”
Paris came to Mason Korea with a large group of friends and made new Korean friends who were just as eager to meet international students. He now calls them family. “One thing I would like to say to all of my friends back in Fairfax is that I’m glad that they were proud of me for taking this opportunity to be abroad for a full academic year. I hope they await for my arrival when I return for my last year as an undergraduate at Mason.”