"You Are Not Alone" — The Message that Carried Me Forward

Chaeyoen was raised at Dongmyung Children’s Center and came to the United States as a YANA Study Abroad Program student in 2018.

She started attending Rutgers University in Fall 2023, majoring in Psychology.

The first time I stepped inside an American school as a foreign student, everything was foreign to me. Language barriers, cultural differences, and the diversity of students were overwhelming. I felt lonely and frustrated because I couldn’t express myself in English to fit in. This experience as a foreigner was far more difficult than I expected.

However, the YANA family always sends me a message of “You Are Not Alone” so that I can overcome this barrier to graduate high school and start a new page of my life in college.

I always want to give back the love and support that the YANA family gave me. Therefore, I want to help other people by majoring in Psychology at Rutgers-New Brunswick. I want to learn the minds and behaviors of others because I always want to comfort others by listening to them and being with them to get through it. 

YANA allowed me to study abroad in America, and it made me realize how useful I am and that I am not alone. Therefore, I want to let other people know that “You Are Not Alone.” 

Chaeyoen

YANA Study Abroad Program for children raised in welfare homes