LOLLIPOP MOMENT

I was introduced to the concept of ’lollipop moment’ through the video attached above, I wondered whether there was a lollipop moment in my life, and otherwise, if I am grown enough to give any lollipop moments to any person nearby. Considering any possible moment that I can remember, certainly, I can tell I have given some to someone else because now I understand that every single moment is meaningful to myself and someone who’s interconnected with me for some reason. What about the chance to alter myself? Now, here comes a big event which has completely changed my life.                                                                                                                                                       
      In 2016, when I was spending my last vacation during middle school, my mom recommended that I apply for a special camp called ‘IP-CEO entrepreneurship education for the gifted.’ Until the selection camp started, I strongly expressed my anger towards my mom; I did not know exactly what kind of education this camp provided, what kind of advantages I could gain from it, or what kind of students participated in the program. However, after I spent three days at KAIST, the life goals that I had I sustained for four years totally changed.                                                                           
      I had experienced several types of education provided for gifted children; each program concentrated in science, math, or integrated subjects. The IP CEO entrepreneurship education program was way different from these educational institutes. The students were passionate about inventing products, coming up with new ideas, and creating an innovative world. This difference showed an obvious distinction from students who only devoted their time in studying math and science. Drafting patents or writing a business plan in a particular topic - it was about blockchain at that time - was a new experience I had never gone through before.                                                                           
      While preparing for KMLA, I solidified my dream to become a professor, majoring in blue chemistry for a green economy. In the midst of it, the short period quantitively, but a long period qualitatively at the camp was a significant turning point in my life. My dream to become a professor turned into a dream of becoming a CEO and running a company based on my own intellectual property.                                                                                                                                                       
      Among many CEOs who focus on making the most profit of all, professor Minhwa Lee, the developer of this gifted education institute, taught us to become ‘cooperative geeks.’ A cooperative geek can be defined as a creative person who can cooperate with the artificial intelligence that will take charge of repeatability in the 21st century: a person who can move from closed efficiency to opened innovation. He also said this, “Be a person who grows the size of a pie, not a person who takes a lot of pie.” This phrase laid the foundation for me to become a broad-minded person, realizing the noblesse oblige. I became engaged in volunteering to devote myself to society to make a better world from the perspective of a student.                                                                           
      I always feel thankful to professor Minhwa Lee, who gave me the opportunity to participate in this KAIST IP CEO education institute. For three years, the program enabled me to become interested in more diverse fields and a wider variety of social classes, from the weak to the strong. One day, I wish I could become a big influencer as professor Lee has done through this institution. In another essay, I will introduce a lollipop moment I gave to my friend when I was 16, though the influence is not that big compared to what I have experienced.