Jin Seokjin Kim ’20 (T5), a political science major from Glenview, Illinois, has been selected as a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow for the Berkeley Junior Summer Institute. Beginning in June, he’ll attend a rigorous, seven-week program at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California-Berkeley.
The fellowship program was founded in 1980 to bring greater diversity to the public sector, and diverse perspectives to decision making in public policy and international affairs. Kim was a Gilman International Scholar in Shanghai last fall, after spending the summer as an intern at the US consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He also has worked as a congressional intern for Sen. Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois.
The fellowship—which will fund full tuition and housing, a stipend, preparation for graduate admission tests, and money toward graduate school tuition—“is an incredible opportunity for me,” Kim says. “It will allow me to engage with other student leaders across the nation. I hope to gain skills in quantitative analysis through statistics, economics, and policy research in order to shape me into a leader who can create tangible change.”
Kim was originally to graduate in 2019, but was awarded a fifth, tuition-free year of study as part of the University’s Take Five Scholars Program. The additional year allows him to study youth development in Latin America.
There are five Junior Summer Institutes at universities across the country, and each accepts about 30 fellows. Kim is the fourth Rochester student to receive a PPIA fellowship to a university, joining Zachary Palomo ’13 (Princeton), Jonathan Johnson ’14 (Carnegie Mellon), and Christian Wooddell ’17 (Carnegie Mellon).
After completing his fellowship at Berkeley, Kim will head to Buenos Aires, Argentina, as part of his Take Five program. He was born in Seoul, South Korea, and came to America when he was 4. His career goal is to work in public service, in either foreign or domestic policy.
“I believe there is so much potential in the immigrant community to step up and serve those that have been marginalized in our societies,” he says. “I want to serve the people who make America such a beautiful and diverse country.”
