Joanne Kim

Chaewon (Joanne) Kim attended Linfield as an international student from Seoul, South Korea, and after graduating in 2013, she went to the University of Texas at Austin and earned a B.A. in Spanish with a minor in Chemistry. After returning to South Korea, she worked in the mobile advertising and golf industries, but she recently started her own language education and translation institute called CJLCI where she gets to utilize her linguistic talents to bridge cultures. She currently provides services in English and Korean but is hoping to expand even more in the future! She attends and serves at a local Methodist church, and in her spare time, she enjoys biking, reading, and visiting cute bookstores and cafes. 

When Joanne thinks back on her years at Linfield, she remembers how challenging it was to learn about science, math, and history in her second language, and she admits that she felt insecure at times because so many of her friends were, like her, overachieving students. Her classes were difficult, and she felt the pressure of trying to maintain the same grades as her peers. However, she observes that this past struggle has helped her become more understanding and compassionate toward her current students, and she has been able to demonstrate tremendous patience with them because she remembers what it was like to be in their shoes. 

Without a doubt, Joanne’s favorite memories from Linfield center on the deep relationships she built with her teachers, and she notes that they have had a profound impact on her current career. She says, “My Linfield teachers showed me what a good, caring teacher is like, and many of them have become my lifelong friends. Without them, I don’t know how I would have gotten this far. Obviously when you are a student, you don’t see the value right away, and that’s normal. Being a student is not easy! Homework and tests give you pain! But once you become an independent adult, you learn that the Linfield community is not something you can easily find. You may find schools with good academic programs, but it’s much harder to find schools that offer good academic programs AND good community all at the same time. If you ever taught me, thank you. Miss you all!”