Stefanie Schoner ’19

Stefanie Schoner ’19 is working outside of Seoul, Korea as an English language teacher.

Stefanie’s Purchase Experience in Her Own Words

When I first entered SUNY Purchase in 2015, I had no idea what I wanted to study.

It was by word of mouth that I found out about a fantastic Intro to Anthropology class and I quickly signed up for the following semester. I enjoyed every minute of it and was enthralled by the way anthropology teaches you to view others without “othering.” It quickly became my major and I took as many anthropology classes as I could.

Going into my junior year, I knew I always wanted to study abroad, so I decided to step out of my comfort zone and study at Yonsei University in South Korea. I wanted to make sure I experienced all that the country had to offer during my time there, but was unsure during which semester to go. With the advice of Professor Pine, I went for the entire year in order to fully immerse myself as much as I could.

During my time in Seoul, I made so many new friends while studying the language and taking various cultural classes like Korean cinema or traditional Korean music. I even found a basic anthropology class and was able to compare the similarities and differences of the way anthropology is taught in America versus South Korea.

After I graduated, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I perused job listings for English teachers in South Korea, an idea I had considered many times before. Months later, I was on that airplane back to the country I had visited years prior.

In March 2021, I was placed in the Gyeonggi province just outside of Seoul and I had a lot of relearning to do. I’m currently on my second year of teaching 6-year-olds at FTK English, an English language immersion school and I plan to stay even longer.

Had it not been for the advice of my anthropology professors and the ideology that the study taught me, I would not have been able to start this new chapter of my life.