Helen and Jane Jun

Helen & Jane Jun, 2013 Hye-Ryeong Kim Memorial Foundation Scholarship Winners

Helen and Jane Jun (yes, they're twins!) were both selected as the 2013 Hye-Ryeong Kim Memorial Foundation Scholarship Winners for their strong community service background, and stellar academic record.

The scholarship committee was extremely impressed that both Jane & Helen earned a 4.0 unweighted GPA (i.e. no extra points for taking Honors and AP classes) at Lynbrook High School, one of the most respected schools in California, while taking a rigorous academic courseload.

Helen (top) and Jane (bottom) helped found and took on various leadership roles for the Aletheia Truth Publication which tackles a controversial issue (competition, sex, partying and drinking, etc) every month and invites anonymous submissions from Lynbrook High School students, teachers and alumni about their experiences pertaining to the subject. We then publish these experiences for the Lynbrook community to read and discuss.

In addition, Jane joined the KEPC youth group on a mission trip to Clarkston, Georgia, which hosts the biggest number of displaced Middle Eastern refugees in the United States. Her chief responsibility was to survey families about their housing needs and tutor English to a pair of single Napali mothers, but she also helped build houses and held bible study for the children.

Jane did additional mission work with Youth Impact International in Qinghai, China, a province bordering Tibet. Her team visited impoverished schools and orphanages to help Tibetan children and share their story with others who could provide assistance.

Helen was extremely involved in Music For Community (MFC), a school organization that allows students to perform at elderly centers, hospitals, schools, and other public venues, and one that Jane was also a part of. She served as Secretary her sophomore year and President her junior and senior years, allowing her to be a mentor, caring for underclassmen and helping them find a place to belong, all while teaching them the joys of serving the community through something we all loved: music.

Helen was also involved in spiritual community service work, including serving as a KEPC AWANA (bible study) leader for middle school students and attending a mission trip to New Mexico, where she restored houses for the Mescalero Native American tribe, and also did homeless outreach in San Francisco.

Helen will starting at Pomona College this fall, where she will study Psychology and English. Her chief career goal is to help victims of human trafficking recover from mental and emotional trauma through close, face-to-face therapy, preferably in Southeast Asian countries.

Meanwhile, Jane will be attending the University of Chicago, where she will study English or journalism, as she prepares for a career where she can report on untold stories (like those of the children in Qinghai) to inspire people and effect change.

Update - March 25, 2015

Helen has done great at Pomona, with a 3.82 GPA and getting involved for social justice through the Los Angeles Urban Project, a missions trip through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and as a mentor for the Asian American Mentoring Program. She's also been doing psychology research, specifically on parent-child relationships, and is active in the Church fellowship, serving as a Bible study leader for her dorms.

Jane has also been having success studying Economics at UChicago, and may add a double major in Public Policy. She's involved with UChicago Against Sexual Exploitation and the UChicago Asian American Christian Fellowship, helping plan large Friday night groups. She's also design editor for Memoryhouse Literary Magazine, a quarterly print letter.

We are so proud of the way Helen and Jane are serving the community and growing in their faith.