Age: 30
Occupation: Client Representative, McClure Engineering Company
What’s the best advice you ever received?
Believe in yourself and try your best.
What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishments?
Successfully transplanting a business from South Korea to the United States, and constructing and operating an amino acid manufacturing plant within a year and a half
What would most people be surprised to learn about you?
I am fully bilingual in Korean and English.
What do you know now that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
I am still learning, but I wish I could have known my strengths and weaknesses.
How do you ensure a balance between work and your personal life?
I set schedules for work and personal life and discuss them with my wife.
What’s something people should know about your generation in the workplace?
I don’t think it’s exclusive to our generation, but we work hard and party hard!
If you had $1 million to give, what causes would you support?
I would support to provide clean water for all.
What is the biggest issue facing the Corridor?
I think flooding is one of the biggest issues facing the Corridor. The city of Cedar Rapids recently withstood a potential flood event thanks to all of the volunteers and the city’s plan after the horrific 2008 flood. In order for a steady growth, we need stability. Everyone in the Corridor, and at the state and federal levels will need to do more.
What do you want to accomplish by the time you are 50?
I’d like to have lived in South Korea and some country in Europe. I’d also like to be running my own business. I loved traveling and working in Japan and Brazil, but I can’t see myself living there because I wouldn’t get anything done!
Who are your local mentors?
Jerald Schnoor, the advisor for my master’s degree at the University of Iowa, and Ecolotree President Lou Licht.
