Statesman Scholar Gayeon Kim

When Gayeon Kim, a native of Seoul, South Korea, began considering options for college, she knew she wanted to come to the United States to pursue her academic passions: computer science and robotics. While she was considering options, one school stood out to her – Richard Bland College of William & Mary.

“I found Richard Bland through a consulting company,” she said. “I decided to come to RBC because it’s not a big college, and I wanted to ease my way into studying in the United States for the first time. A smaller environment enabled me to have more contact with my professors and acclimate myself to college life at a pace I felt comfortable with.”

Kim also feels that Richard Bland has all the resources and opportunities beyond her work in the classroom that rounds out her college experience and prepares her to transfer to a four-year university following graduation in 2020. “The number of internships and programs available for students at RBC is impressive, and a reason why the College is a great fit for me.”

As an aspiring robotics developer, Kim is a computer science major at RBC.

“Computer Science requires programming and a lot of math and science,” she explained. “I am interested in learning programming and math, so I don’t regret choosing my major at the start of my academic career. I am fascinated with robots, especially assembling robots and programming them to make them move and perform a certain way.”

Besides the opportunities to excel in both academics and her career aspirations, Kim has enjoyed being immersed in the RBC community. She is part of ASPIRE, a living and learning community on campus, which houses academically high-achieving residential students, honors students, and international students from all over the world, including Kim’s South Korea, but also Vietnam, China, Taiwan, to name a few. Through the camaraderie and intercultural aspects of ASPIRE, Kim cherishes the memories she’s made through her residential experience on campus as some of her favorites since she arrived at RBC.

“I love having friends who share cultures together,” she said. “In the dorm, we have cooked food for each other, discussed topics that we have different perceptions, and have tried to learn each other’s languages.”

A member of RBC’s Global Student Success Program (GSSP) and the International Club, Kim is able to take her multicultural experiences around campus.

“There are many cultural activities at RBC that I can participate in with my friends,” she said. At the GSSP’s annual holiday party, Kim decorated her first gingerbread house along with friends she’s made through the program.

“I want to transfer to Virginia Tech after graduating RBC,” she said. “I want to expand my knowledge of computer science and work for a robot development tech company.”