So-yeon immigrated to America from South Korea when she was 12 years old. She talked about how challenging it was for her to adjust to the way classes were taught in America. Her advisor, however, suggested she take an art class, which help boost her confidence in school:
I took the class and that was the best decision I made since I came here, because I found that I have some sort of artistic talents and [laughs] and people really appreciated that I was doing my best to finish my task. And [it] helped me build confidence on me, because I could see my paintings on the walls of the hallways sometimes and I was very passionate about art. And I think that was like a gift that I got, the first gift I got from America. So I still love to paint and I still love to draw.”
