Faces of FIUTS: Meet Brooke
Faces of FIUTS is a new campaign that collects personal stories from individuals who are part of our work. This week, meet Brooke!
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Washington. I have lived here at the University of Washington for four years, but my parents live and work in Tacoma. My cultural background is Korean; my parents were both born in South Korea. I’ve visited there a few times, but have lived the majority of my life here in Washington.
What’s your FIUTS story?
I first got involved with FIUTS as an Ambassador for the SUSI program. It was a transformative experience. I’d always thought of myself as an open-minded person, but it was a different experience to really get to know people from other places and have real conversations about politics, culture, music, and much more. I still keep in touch with the SUSI students. It’s amazing to have their friendship in different parts of the world – any time of day, there’s always someone to talk to.
How will you change the world?
My goal is to become a physician and work with underserved minority communities as a family doctor. I’m also interested in global health and would like to do trips with Doctors Without Borders someday. I hope to use my experience with FIUTS to bridge cultural gaps; I’ve developed a lot of communication skills that aren’t about language, that I hope will help me make connections with people from around the world.
Brooke Byun is a University of Washington senior majoring in Biochemistry and Communication, minoring in English. She was a UW Student Ambassador for the FIUTS Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSI) in 2016 and 2017.
Faces of FIUTS is published every two weeks on the FIUTS blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Read past posts collected here!
Interested in being featured as a Face of FIUTS? Contact Ellen Frierson at ellen@fiuts.org.