Sawyer Getschman is an East Asian Languages and Cultures major at UW-Madison with a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. During her time at UW-Madison, she has been a member of the Korean Learning Community, an ALC Korean Peer Language tutor, and participated in multiple study abroad programs in South Korea. She is set to graduate in December 2024.
Why did you choose to pursue a major in East Asian Languages and Cultures?
I grew up as a military kid. For six years of my life, on and off, I lived in Japan and I gained a very intense interest in learning Japanese language. I studied that for four years in high school. Then I stumbled on Korean dramas on Netflix. I remember running to my dad and I went, “I want to learn Korean.” He said, “Whoa, okay, you’ve invested three years in Japanese, and your high school doesn’t offer Korean. Stick with Japanese, and then when you get to college, you can do whatever you want.” So, I had never set foot in Wisconsin. I never really heard of Wisconsin, but they have very good Asian language programs. And they offered both Korean and Japanese. And so, I was like, I’m going to go here. I thought, well, I don’t really know what I want to do with my life. But I know that I have an interest in Japanese and Korean and that was the major that fit it. I fell in love with the department and just never looked back.
What was your experience completing multiple study abroad programs and how did you choose the program you’re currently in?
Two summers ago, I decided to study abroad in South Korea, attending Yonsei University for a three-month intensive Korean language program. At the time, I was very eager and desperate for an opportunity to get better at my language. And I didn’t want to go an entire summer without that kind of engagement. I thought it was going to be difficult, but I really wanted to do it. It ended up being a great experience. Yonsei University had more of a UW-Madison vibe. The whole city is dedicated to the campus and Yonsei is a very big university, so I really wanted that kind of vibe. I also did a lot of research into the difference between the programs, even though both are three months of intensive programs. At the end of the three months, I did have two friends who went to Korea University, and they liked their program, and I liked my program very much. I think we ended up choosing ones that fit us very well. But as soon as I got to Korea and attended classes, I knew I wanted to come back. So I’ve been here since August 2023.
What was a day in your life like while in South Korea?
I have classes every day and take three classes. One of my classes is six credits and meets three times a week, and that’s my Korean language class. Typically, if it is a day that I have Korean class, an hour before my Korean class, I meet one of my classmates, and we preview our material. Then, we go to classes. Afterwards, I meet up with some of my other friends who also go to Madison, and we usually go to dinner. Then after that, we might go to karaoke. Then typically, each day or every other day, I go to a café with one of my friends to study. They have specific study cafes called study cafes that are open 24 hours. One of my favorite things about Korea is they have animal cafes. Then typically on weekends, my friends and I usually plan most of our time inside of Seoul. But Sokcho is a very nice city by the beach in northeast Korea, so sometimes we’ll plan day trips like that.
How have extracurricular activities you did at UW-Madison helped you while being in Korea?
The extracurricular activity that I was most involved in at Madison is a club called Korean Happy Hour. Basically, it is a club designed to help students who are learning Korean get an opportunity to speak Korean outside of class. The first level of Korean can have 100 students in it, so I think it can be very daunting. I joined it freshman year and liked it so much that when I came onto campus my sophomore year, I also was a part of it, and I ended up joining the board. And then my junior year I was vice president. We would have different activities [including] Korean traditional games, movie nights, k-drama nights. I was very happy that we would have quite a few people come to our club and the club still exists. Every Korean that I’ve met has absolutely loved Madison because it’s a very laid-back active community. Whereas Korea is a very, very, fast life. I was also the Korean tutor for Asian Languages and Cultures (ALC), and I very much enjoyed that. Most of my extracurriculars revolved around teaching English, or the Korean club. I would say outside of that I also helped with ALC events. I think Madison brought me out of my shell and it gave me my core group of friends that I have to this day, and it reestablished to me that I do have a passion for teaching English.
What are your plans for after graduation?
That’s the million-dollar question. I would love to work in South Korea. That is my dream. Right now, my ideal job is to teach English in Korea. Specifically, I would love to work at a private academy. It’s slightly different than what we think of when we say a private academy in the U.S. Korea is known for how intense their workforces are and how intense their education is. So these private academies are places where students go after they finish their regular classes to continue studying. I would like to work at a private academy because then I have more control over my timetable.
Sawyer Getschman was selected as the student speaker for the Winter 2024 Commencement. Watch her speech here.