Life after the CLS Program: Interview with Brandon Marc Higa, Korea ‘08

For CLS alumnus, Brandon Marc Higa, participating in the 2008 CLS Korean institute greatly impacted his studies and future career. How so? Find out below!

CLS Program: How did participation in the CLS Program impact your career?

Brandon at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul

Brandon Marc Higa: Within a few months of returning from the CLS Program in Korea, I was able to achieve one of my life goals – securing a full-time position at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)! Participating on the CLS Program and interning at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo helped me land the position with the ECA Office of Alumni Affairs, as an Alumni Coordinator for Asia. At ECA, my portfolio included two regions of the world – East Asia and the Pacific (EAP), and South and Central Asia (SCA).

CLS: How have you been able to use your Korean language skills in previous or current positions?

Brandon: Since I was able to obtain conversational Korean through the CLS Program, it came in handy when greeting Korean exchange grantees in Washington, DC either for their pre-departure or pre re-entry orientations.

In my current position at Kapiolani Community College (KCC) in Honolulu, Hawaii, I’ve been able to use my Korean language skills to interact with international Korean students at the International Café (conversation tables). I’ve sat in on a few of these as a participant, and briefly shared my experiences with the CLS Program and at the State Department, with students interested in going overseas. In addition, I’ve spoken with a number of Freeman recipients, who have asked me about applying for scholarships to study abroad while at KCC or after they transfer to a four-year institution.

On a side note, I live in an area of Honolulu densely populated with Korean nationals and many Korean businesses. It definitely comes in handy for that person to person interaction in daily life here!



Brandon's first meal in South Korea

CLS: In addition to developing proficiency in Korean, what other skills did you gain from the CLS Program?

Brandon: In addition to the language skills the CLS Program gave me, the real life experience of being in the metropolis area of Korea and interacting with local citizens helped me to better understand ways to conduct business, which is a valuable life skill to have. The in-country experience also helped me with my other professional endeavors as an actor and fashion model. I recently modeled for the United Colors of Benetton’s spring campaign and started working on commercials for Asian clients through a local production company.

If there’s anything I’d like to share with CLS alumni, it would be to stay in touch with their cohort, CAORC, American Councils, and the State Department. You just never know how the CLS Program experience will change your life in the most unexpected ways! To think, I was so scared to go to Korea without any experience being there before. Overcoming that fear showed me that anything is possible in life if you just put your mind to it and try.

Brandon Marc Higa currently works as a Grants Development Specialist at Kapiolani Community College, in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii. View more of Brandon's pictures on the CLS facebook page.