Jisoo Lee’s parents came to the United States from South Korea, hoping to give their children the American dream. In spring 2023, he became an American citizen.

Lee was only 18 months old when he moved with his family to the United States. He came to Dallas with his mother and sister because of an aunt who was already living there. His father joined them a couple of years later. They came looking for new opportunities.

“My mom said she moved to the United States because of the American dream,” Lee said. “It opens so many doors to new opportunities that, apparently, we would not have in South Korea.”

Lee has great respect for his parents for making that decision, especially with a young family.

“I think it is really brave of them,” he said. “I take pride in that because obviously, it is not easy to move to a different continent, especially if you have kids. I don't know if I would be able to do it.”
While growing up in the Dallas area, Lee attended a high school with a graduating class of about 70 students, where he played soccer. “I played soccer all four years, and then my senior year I was actually able to play baseball, because our school is so small that we didn't have many people.”

After graduating from high school, Lee came to Texas A&M as a first-year economics major, where it took time to adjust to the larger number of students in the university environment. He made the transition by gradually getting involved. During his first semester he joined the real estate club. Later, he became involved in intramural basketball and soccer through the Department of Recreational Sports.

He has also enjoyed his Leadership Living Learning Community (L3C), one of several residential student communities on campus that are organized around academic or other common interests. All members of the L3C live in Krueger Hall on campus, are required to take a one-credit-hour course about theoretical concepts of leadership and start the year with a weekend retreat.

“I didn’t expect to take this class,” Jisoo said of his experience with the L3C. “I thought it was just a living community, but I am thankful for the class and really enjoyed it. I have met many people and have found new opportunities that I would not have experienced without that class. I was hesitant and a little nervous to attend the retreat because I did not know everybody too well. But I went anyway and had an enjoyable time. It was fun!”

Dr. Carol Binzer, director of administrative and support services in the Department of Residence Life, is the adviser and classroom instructor for the L3C. “The retreat, which is held at a camp in Livingston, Texas, happens in the fall semester as one of the first opportunities to build community,” she said. “Students can apply their experience building community in the L3C to the rest of their time at Texas A&M. The pact was, here is how you can be more successful, and this community is not so different than the campus at large.”
Lee said the retreat experience allowed him to be closer to people and create friendships.

While attending Texas A&M, Lee’s parents encouraged him to think about applying for citizenship. “My mom asked if when I grow up if I want to live in America or go back to Korea. For me, I just lived here my whole life. I have become so accustomed to the U.S. that I do not really have any desire to move back.”

Lee began the application process when he turned 18. It took several months and included both oral and written testing. Since he had grown up in the states, he was not worried about the content for the tests, saying that it was mostly “pretty basic U.S. history questions.” However, he has already felt how citizenship can impact his life in small ways.

“I feel like nothing drastic has changed, but sometimes little things make a difference,” he said. “I can participate in voting and other activities I could not experience before. When I was in high school, they were passing out voter registration forms and obviously I was not eligible. I do not want to say I felt left out or anything, but I had to step aside. I did not feel disrespected, but it was just something I had to accept. Now that I can vote, I have a say and can participate in the process of government.”

Lee continues to enjoy his time at Texas A&M. He will change his major from economics to finance and plans to complete an MBA after graduating in 2026.

“My goal, my dream, is to go into private equity,” he said. “It has always been something that interested me. After college, I will go into investment banking just to get my foot in the door of that world.”
Now, through citizenship, Lee is one step closer to making his and his parents’ dreams a reality.