With only $100 in her pocket, no capability to speak English, and no relatives, Dr. Jin Robertson (Suh Jin Kyu) immigrated to America with the hopes for a better future and life after she was forced to endure severe hardships in South Korea, her homeland.
Robertson got her start in America as a housemaid, but eventually worked her way to earning a PhD from Harvard University. Robertson is now a motivational speaker who speaks at schools and women’s leadership conferences. She also has written her own novel, “Major Dream,” which depicts her life story from rags to riches.
On April 9, 2012, Robertson came to the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES) to speak to both middle and high school students about her hardships, how she overcame them, and what she did to end up where she is now.
“I signed up for this assembly for my high school seniors because it seemed like they were lacking motivation now that the school year is coming to an end for them,” Jose Rojas, AP human geography teacher, said. “I wanted this opportunity to give them motivation and encouragement to finish hard before they go off to college.”
Throughout her talk, Robertson focused on the theme of her story and lessons on how action and response lead—to a good outcome. As a child, Robertson was mistreated by her mother, who always believed Robertson was a “worthless and useless nothing.” Because of this experience, Robertson emphasized the importance of taking initiative when you know something is wrong or you know that you do not deserve the things that are happening to you.
At the end of Robertson’s speech, several students went up to the stage to give her a hug or to show a sign of gratitude. She tried to motivate her audience, full of students, to find the secret to studying and to never give up no matter how difficult the situation may be by telling her how she was able to cope and overcome her hardships in South Korea and living as an immigrant in America.
On Thursday night, April 12, 2012, Robertson gave her motivational speech to Korean American parents. For more information about Robertson, her life stories, and her most popular novel, visit her website: http://drjinrobertson.com/
Great story about a great woman. I personally am more of a news writer so I would have started out my lead with the actual speaking event at your school and then gone into Robertson’s story, but since this is a feature story, I do like how you started out more creatively. Perhaps a quote/reaction from a student that attended would have been good. Overall, really great article!
Great article Lily! I think if you had included more direct quotes from Dr. Robertson the article would have been even better 🙂
Hi Lily,
This story was really inspiring. I like how it was a features article and the headline and deck both caught the attention of the reader. You focused on the character (Dr. Robertson) while giving direct quotes or spectators as well. You can include a photo of the speech (not just the poster) or add more quotes from students to liven you story.