▲ Yeji Jang (Biomedical Chemical Engineering, Class of '21) ▲ Sanghak Kim (International Studies, Class of '21)

▲ NALA_CUK

On May 11, thick greenery all over the street, Catholic University Love met two students, Yeji Jang (Biomedical Chemical Engineering, Class of '21) and Sanghak Kim (International Studies, Class of '21).

The club "NALA_CUK", whose leaders are Yeji Jang and Sanghak Kim, has pledged to donate 3 million won to the development fund for the second international hall, "Andrea Hall". Let's meet "NALA_CUK" and check out the value of the donation and the detailed story from them.

Q. You two are "NALA_CUK" leaders. Please introduce your club.

A. "NALA_CUK" is an institutional club affiliated with the Office of Admissions Officers and serves as the "major admissions mentoring group" to introduce majors and admission types of the Catholic University of Korea to students who wish to enter the Catholic University of Korea. 

Q. You must have faced difficulties as you had to donate as a student. Despite all, is there a reason or a motive for "NALA_CUK" to have decided to donate?

A. It is true that we have faced a lot of difficulties as we are just students, not making money at all. But we wanted to create our own opportunity to return what we have received from the school. "NALA_CUK", compared to other clubs, focuses more on outside activities. But, this time, in particular, we wanted to give practical help to the inside of the school. Considering these two, donation is the best option for us. Also, there was an aspect we considered to promote the interest and harmony between students and the campus from the voluntary donation of "NALA_CUK".

Q. There are other types of development funds, but why did you choose “Andrea Hall” for the donation?

A. “Andrea Hall” is a newly built facility on the campus, especially for students, and we thought it was the perfect place for “NALA_CUK” to be with. Most of all, “Andrea Hall” will be a rest area for students, which made us choose to donate for “Andrea Hall”.

Q. What did you think or feel after you donated? If this activity changed your mindset, please share your story with us.

A. When we were writing a pledge, we considered if this would actually help students or how much it would help students. After we participated in the Andrea Hall blessing ceremony, seeing the signboard with the name "NALA_CUK" written, I thought that I had contributed in any way to the establishment of this space. Now that Andrea Hall is completed, we are very proud of ourselves having donated.

Q. What does donation mean to you?

A. There is a saying, which has become a motivation for donation: "I shared roses with others, and the fragrance of roses remained in my hands." Donation is not just simply giving, but it is an act of returning by exerting good influences (recognition, and pride), I guess. Also, just the idea of wanting to help from the bottom of one's heart increases the value of the donation. I hope "NALA_CUK", including us, could become a club infused with the fragrance of roses with pure hearts we talked about earlier.

Q. What are your plans for this year?

A. We had to halt most of the activities due to the pandemic, but since everything seems to return to its original status, our biggest plan is to organize mentoring activities and major fairs as we used to do before. Also, we would like to proceed with events for enrolled students, such as "That year, at CUK", which was for the new students on our campus. We will toil and moil for the club activities, so please look forward to our events.

Q. If you have any special content to share, please go ahead.

A. We conduct a seminar so we can share the results of the entrance examination with the admissions officer every vacation. This seminar is intended to inform other faculty members, high school students, and their parents of how our entrance examinations are operated. This winter vacation, we wanted to organize a bigger event and feature some interviews.

Q. What is the most meaningful and memorable moment as part of the club? Maybe you can tell us the most memorable content.

A1. (Jang) "NALA_CUK" is running a blog website. We left our email addresses for inquiries, and some students asked some questions regarding how to prepare for admission. And I reply to such emails from time to time, and later on, I find the recipient had joined our school as a new student. It's really meaningful, and I feel proud of myself.

A2. (Kim) I feel responsible and proud of all activities as I inform others of our school on behalf of CUK. If I have to pick one story, I would like to say "Mentoring for New Students", which was held last February. Through "mentoring for new students", I could see a lot of students, and they not only made friends but also shared the information they needed. I found it so meaningful and memorable.

Q. How do you deal with any difficulties you face in a club?

A1. (Jang) Interior communication is critical, but since we mainly work outside the campus, we need to communicate with those outside the campus like admission officers or local high schools. It is inevitable that we face communication problems from time to time. Especially when I have to deal with those in the position of high authority, it is not easy. Despite that, we make the best efforts to make the best results.

A2. (Kim) Interior communication is also important. Inside the club, we try to share our difficulties with one another. During the process, we easily find solutions and lead ourselves to a better way.

Q. Please say anything to those who will receive benefits from your donation.

A. Whenever we introduce our club, we say, "We are to give you wings to dreams of students from middle/high schools and our campus". We want to become our students' wings to support them, and we hope this space becomes a place for realizing their dreams.

Reporting / Article writing