Hyeon-Dae Jo

Public Accounting
Peter J. Tobin College of Business
St. John's University

I'm one of the students who are enrolled in the 5-year program, SJU-YU AJP, which stands for St. John's University and Yeungnam University Accounting Joint Program. I came to St. John's and New York city at the end of August, six months ago. Even though I have spent just one winter vacation here I can tell anyone who is interested in this program, or any international academic program offered by YU that experiencing other cultures can be one of the most valuable assets for your careers and lives.
There are a lot of things to do in America so I created a TO-DO list. During the last vacation I focused on visiting museums such as the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, etc. First, I toured the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). I went at 4:30 p.m. on Friday because there is free admission at that time. The collection contains unparalleled pieces from every period of visual culture up to the present day, including such distinctly modern forms as film and industrial design as well as more traditional mediums.* Appreciating paintings and sculptures, especially the works of Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, was one of the best times I've ever had.  I also want to share my impressions after going to see the Museum of Natural History. It was great. I never imagined that I could see real skeletons of dinosaurs that I had seen in the movie, "Night at the Museum." My entry fee was a donation. I determined the amount of the donation as many international or exchange students do. The museum organizes and exhibits all kinds of creatures as well. The museum displays some 34 million objects, the enormous size of the collections and exhibits requires people to visit several times if they want to see everything.
On top of that, since I have been here and studying in New York, as a student of the business school, I can constantly get a sense about the world economy's ups and downs. It is a great opportunity that can lead me to think in different ways and give me different perspectives from students in Korea. When I first arrived in Manhattan, there were many people touring the city and shopping.

However, as the weather changed, I could see fewer people walking around and several shops shutting down. The economic recession is worse than people living outside of the U. S. A. think. It is hard to appreciate the difficulties facing the world economy. Trying to gauge whether or not economic policies are too timid or too aggressive, however, is one of the reasons why I'm studying here.
For business majors who are considering going abroad to study or just to experience something new, I highly recommend joining SJU-YU AJP or one of the other international programs YU sponsors. After last winter vacation, I realized that being here is not only about improving language skills, but broadening your perspective on life.
* From MoMA Pamphlet

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