Summer (Ha Rin) Joh
LSOE '25
I will be at Nanhua University this summer for 2 months as a TEEP Intern. TEEP stands for Taiwan Experience Education Program which connects students from all over the world to cultural and professional experiences in Taiwan! I will be working at the Department of Natural Biotechnology, within a research team that strives to promote a 鈥渓ivable urban life鈥 and has four main objectives regarding education, environment, industry, and the shared good, such as establishing a local education promotion model that provides education for young children and support for the elderly, as well as to create communities and towns where people can live comfortably to achieve the goal of environmental sustainability! Our key projects include international initiatives such as the Slow Movement and the Cittaslow Alliance. Nanhua University will thus be holding an international conference and Earth Market on June 23rd, 2024 which I will partake in as an English host. I believe that being able to play such a major role in an international conference as such will be a great opportunity for me to connect with other professionals in the field that are passionate about social impacts regarding food supply in local communities. In July, I will be traveling to many various local communities including Chiayi, Miaoli, and Taitung counties to explore the differences among their ingredients, cooking and storage methods. I will also be interviewing the farmers to explore the agricultural farming and marketing channels. Through this experience, I look forward to learning more about Taiwanese agriculture and food industries. Another project that I will be assisting is the Cittaslow Convention in Korea during mid-July. As a native Korean, I will be assisting as a translator and will be traveling with them for this international meeting. Overall, I believe that this TEEP internship opportunity at Nanhua University is the perfect answer to both my unique passions and career goals, and I am extremely excited to approach this new experience with the support of the Frontier Fellowship, and be able to share my journey with the Montserrat and BC community!