2011 Entering Class Profiles

Hyejin Park , 2012, Republic of Korea

How my experience at Fletcher has changed the way I look at the world: Fletcher has broadened my global perspective by forcing me to listen carefully to non-lawyers and to think outside the legal box to which I was accustomed. At Fletcher, you never know where your classmates are coming from and what they bring to the table. A cross section of lawyers, diplomats, entrepreneurs, activists, and traditional political science and international relations majors from all over the world come together to sit in the same classroom to discuss any given topic. It amazes me to see how we can look at things from such different perspectives. The entire experience makes perfect sense as this is how the real-world actually works - people from different professions interacting with each other to collectively shape policies that affect the world. Fletcher serves as a safe, yet lively, venue to be trained in that critical aspect of policy making - namely, talking to, and perhaps more importantly, listening to each other.

Why I chose Fletcher: I chose Fletcher because I liked the school’s philosophy of melding law with other fields of international affairs. Before coming to Boston for my law degree, I had been working with the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, assisting U.S. Foreign Service Officers in their efforts to solidify bilateral alliance in political, economic, social, and cultural arenas, as well as to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear and human rights issues. Working for the U.S. government abroad in one of the world's geopolitically critical regions gave me a tremendous exposure to the multi-layered, international legal and political dynamics. With Fletcher’s interdisciplinary program, highly intellectual vibe, and truly global composition, I knew this was the right place to be. I am able to hone my academic and professional interests in international trade and development mechanism from a more comprehensive, multi-dimensional perspective.