2006 The Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Jae-eun Kang grew up in Korea as a rather normal girl; however, when she happened to find a book I Wanted to be Excluded From Korea, written by Sung-Ju Kim, she started to think about her career as a woman business leader. This book, which is the source of her interest in business, motivated her to come to the United States and study it in depth. As soon as she graduated from high school in Korea, Jae-eun came to the U.S. by herself and started her new life here. Although she faced many challenges, such as the language barrier and cultural differences, Jae-eun was able to transfer to UCLA, her dream school. Now, as a senior at UCLA, Jae-eun is majoring in Business Economics with a Minor in Accounting, and has joined many business-related clubs to further explore her interests.

Future Plans: After taking classes for her major at UCLA, Jae-eun found herself being very interested in business, specifically accounting and tax. She is currently interning at an accounting firm to gain experience and to build up the skills that she will need in the near future. Jae-eun would like to work at one of the Big Four accounting firms after completing a graduate degree in accounting/tax and earning her CPA license.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: The Donald Edward & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship helps me in many ways – not only financially, but also emotionally. As an international student, high tuition fees always worry me. Thanks to this scholarship, I can concentrate on studying instead of worrying. Moreover, with this scholarship it seems as if someone is supporting me, so this makes me feel that I should work harder to repay his or her thanks some day. I also feel that working hard to pursue my goal will bring me success, even though it it not always easy. Thanks again.