Andrew Yoon- BSc. Kinesiology

Andrew Yoon currently studies in the Kinesiology program at McGill University. He shares the knowledge he has gained throughout his academic career regarding school, extra curricular involvement, and social engagements. Andrew also provides insight regarding a research-related summer internship opportunity he acquired.

Interviewer’s note: the first portion of this interview is related to the interviewee’s academic career at McGill University. The second portion of this interview is related to an internship opportunity acquired by the interviewee.

Tell us about what you (have) studied at McGill.

I am currently a U2 Kinesiology student transferring into Honours in Kinesiology in my U3 year.

Interviewer’s note: for more information regarding the kinesiology program at McGill University, please refer to http://www.mcgill.ca/edu-kpe/prospective/undergraduate#bscKin

What are you planning to do after graduation?

After getting my bachelor degree, I am thinking of taking a year off from school to travel and figure out what I really want to do with my life. Money is important in life; however, I think happiness is the most important aspect. I want to be able to take this gap year and figure out what I really enjoy doing and what I want to do for my future career, as it will take a large part of my life. However, I have had 4 knee surgeries in the past, and just love sports in general. I would love to be able to help others that are going through similar situations as I did. Thus, I would like to go in to sports medicine field as an orthopaedic surgeon.

What are some pros and cons about your program?

With Kinesiology, there aren’t any cons I can think of.

I absolutely enjoy what I study every day. In this program, you learn how to treat patients with bad conditions with the emphasis on exercise programs, as well as learning how to increase an athlete’s athletic ability. We learn how to approach these individuals with nutrition, psychology, exercise programs, and other research-based variables. When it comes to the students in the program, the classrooms are small compared to other larger programs, consisting around 70 people per class. This allows you to get to know each other better, and the professors also remember your name!

Everyone is very friendly and since we all have similar interests, we get along very well.

Most regretful thing you’ve ever done at McGill?

The most regretful thing I’ve ever done is probably when I chose to stay in Montréal during the summer to take part in the research internship, instead of participating in the second round of tryouts for the Canada Games Beach Volleyball team of New Brunswick. It was a tough decision as I wanted a break from academics, and I still regret it sometimes but I know that at this point in life, academics is more important than athletics for my future.

Interviewer’s note: Andrew Yoon speaks about the internship opportunity mentioned towards the end of this interview.

Proudest thing you’ve ever done at McGill?

Proudest thing I’ve ever done is probably the research paper I will be publishing at the end of this semester. This is a study that has been going on for a while now and I was lucky enough to work on the last part of the project and get to tie the end of the strings.

What advice would you give to younglings at McGill?

My advice to the “younglings” at McGill would definitely be to get involved as much as you can during the early years at school. From my personal experience, I got involved in many things during my frosh year. I got to learn what I enjoy doing, which helped me set long term goals regarding my future career.

Each year I was involved in fewer things, but these involvements were more in depth with what I loved to do.

Enjoy the school life! Academics is a big thing for everyone here, but take advantage of all the opportunities this school provides. You shouldn’t focus solely on your academics, but also your extracurricular and your social life as well! This university is so diverse and I find it just amazing how you can meet so many people with their own unique personalities and personal stories.

My main point is, learn from your experiences and learn how to manage your time with all these things. There is always time to socialize and do extracurricular if you just manage your time!

Interviewer’s note: the following questions are related to an internship opportunity acquired by the interviewee.

Tell us about your summer internship and how you acquired it.

I acquired my summer internship through the Adriano Tassone Internship Award provided by my faculty. They chose four people that summer and I was lucky enough to be one of them. With this internship, I was able to continue my previous lab work which involved a lot of hands on data collection.

In a short explanation, the study looked at the possible effects of mobile workstations (stationary bike) on the individual’s musculoskeletal system of their upper extremities during computer work. Everyone experiences discomfort and pain in the shoulder and neck region when doing computer work, whether you’re doing an assignment or studying for an exam. So, we pretty much want to see if biking while doing these activities can prevent or lower these symptoms!

There are currently stationary bikes at some of the libraries and I think we are definitely going in the right direction. Today I am working on the same project and hope that one day, stationary bikes can be implemented everywhere. It is a great way to improve your health while getting your work done!

Tell us 3 things you learned from this internship.

This was my first real research position acquired, thus I learned many things from this internship.

1. I learned how to be a researcher. I learned how to be professional as a researcher, how to interact with the participants, how to properly collect and analyze the data. It made me feel like I just learned a completely different language.
2. I learned how important researchers are and how large of an impact it can have on our world. Research is the best way to provide a possible solution to a certain problem that is not yet fully understood (and when it has to do with human health, it becomes critical).
3. I learned that I will always continue being involved in research. No matter what I do in the future, I will always look for opportunities to be a participant in studies if I am not the researcher who will contribute to the literature reviews there are today!

How did this internship steer the course of your career?

This internship gave me the option to go to grad school in the future. Grad school was never an option for me before this internship. But by being hands on with the study and learning about the process that goes into collecting and analyzing the data, I just enjoyed every part of it. It got me interested in going to grad school in the future, and with the experience I acquired, it opened many doors for me through the connections made with the grad students and professors.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

No matter what your situation is, apply for all the opportunities there are for internships!

I did not get the first internship that I applied for, but I continued to apply for the other opportunities and got this one which changed my life.