“I grew up between Korea and the United States, so being exposed to different cultures and international environments naturally became a big part of who I am. I think that’s why the University of Utah Asia Campus felt meaningful to me from the start.

I wanted an environment that wouldn’t limit me to being, as the Korean saying goes, a ‘frog in a well.’ I wanted to meet people with different perspectives, experience different cultures and constantly be challenged to think beyond what I already knew.

Being able to study in both Incheon and Salt Lake City felt incredibly meaningful to me. The expanded campus system itself was inspiring and it made the world feel much bigger to me from the beginning.

Looking back now, that’s exactly what the Asia Campus gave me.

At the Asia Campus, I studied psychology and later joined the Honors College during my junior year. Through my honors thesis with Dr. Ha Na Yoo, I had my first real experience bridging theory with real-life application through hands-on research.

That experience completely changed the way I saw psychology.

I became fascinated by the way people interpret the world around them—especially across digital spaces, social environments and different cultural contexts. It also made me realize that psychologists should have more responsibility in keeping pace with how people and their environments continue to evolve.

That realization shaped the direction of my future.

Now I’m graduating as part of the first honors undergraduate cohort at the Asia Campus, which feels both exciting and meaningful to me. There wasn’t always a clear structure or roadmap, so a lot of the process involved figuring things out together for the first time.

But honestly, one of the things I’ll remember most is how many people genuinely cared about helping us succeed.

Faculty and staff across both the Asia Campus and Salt Lake City campuses invested so much time and energy into supporting students like me. Seeing that level of care made me want to work harder and continue pursuing academia more seriously myself.

It also made being part of the U feel much more personal. I didn’t just feel like a student—I felt respected, supported and genuinely included within the community.

This year’s commencement theme, ‘The U behind you, the world in front of you,’ resonates with me because I feel like the U has become part of who I am. The world ahead feels huge and uncertain sometimes, but also full of endless possibilities.

After graduation, I’ll be continuing my studies in psychology at New York University. I hope to become both a researcher and an educator someday because I don’t see teaching and research as separate things. To me, teaching is an extension of research. Both begin with curiosity, meaningful questions and the desire to better understand people.

And if I could say one thing to future Asia Campus students, it would be this: Go mad and study the field you love as much as you want.

Meet people who challenge your perspective. Start endless conversations. Let your heart both beat and break from relationships. And most importantly, take this time to become your own best friend.

Learn who you are, understand yourself deeply and build a stronger sense of self.

I think that’s one of the most valuable things the Asia Campus can give you.”

— Hamin Cho, U Asia Campus Class of 2026, Honors B.S. in Psychology, College of Social and Behavioral Science