Photo By Ana Allen | CAMP HUMPHRIES, South Korea -- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee, Ben Ellis,...... read more read more
BLOG - By Ben Ellis, project manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Far East District,
When I signed up for the Pathways internship program in September of 2014, I expected to expand my horizons and skillset, but as my plane landed in South Korea for a two-year tour, I quickly learned that this wouldn’t be an ordinary internship experience. But what I never expected is that I would gain so much more than just experience as a result of working at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Far East District (FED) in Korea.
One of my first introductions to the FED staff was through my sponsor, a fellow intern who helped me with on-boarding and getting an apartment. Our home office during our internships was Osan Air Force Base’s Central Resident Office, located just outside a community boasting some excellent Korean food and unique shopping experiences. Throughout the two-year program, I met over 20 employees who first joined USACE through the intern program. I decided within the first few months that I intended to do the same. As a matter of fact, it was one of my fellow co-workers who first introduced me to my future wife, a Korean national, Hwang Lee, who was studying art in Osaka Japan, and who was interested in meeting me because I'm half Japanese. Meeting her definitely brought my experience abroad to a whole new level.
While my focus was still on the internship, which meant I was committed to learning as much about USACE as possible, life was definitely richer with Hwang. The program was successful. I spent my first six months shadowing project engineers and construction representatives at the construction office. By my last three months, I was working as a full-fledged project engineer. The middle fifteen months were my rotation months. The rotations are what gave me a unique view of the entire Corps, and helped shape me into successful member of the team. I was amazed and how much the organization was willing to invest in developing my skillsets.
And on my off time, Hwang and I delved into travel opportunities abroad, visiting Japan six times. During one of our trips, we frequented local shops and restaurants in the northern part of Okinawa and played tourist there. Other trips included riding an elephant in Thailand and even rock climbing on Ko Phi Phi island. As an avid rock climber, I was definitely excited to discover some good spots in the pacific region outside of Korea.
And as avid hikers and campers, we also explored some trails in Korea, to include a small summit quite a far way from Osan and Seoul. There we enjoyed exploring a temple, midway up the hike, called Boriam Temple.
By far the most memorable trip was traveling back to Japan and hiking up Mount Fuji. We started the hike at 7 p.m. so, unbeknownst to her, I could propose at sunrise. After she said yes, i joked to my wife that for her to marry me, I needed to know she was strong enough. She definitely passed the final test.
Less than a year later, we got married right near Osan Air Force Base at a traditional Korean House, with a lake view in front for the ceremony and a small garden in the back for the reception.
Back at work, and now as a married man, I continued to learn how the division fit into FED’s mission; how each branch helps deliver engineering solutions in Korea in order to secure the U.S. and our allies. It quickly became clear that due to the scale of FED’s operations it would take many years to truly understand the internal processes of each division. To work as part of a large organization like FED, I learned it is far better to know who knows what. The rotations gave me those networking opportunities. Knowing who to ask for help made transitioning to a GS-11 project engineer at the end of my internship, smooth.
Outside of work, Hwang and I continue to explore Korea. I had heard all about how Korea is a country for the progressive and tech-savvy, but it was something special to see it in person. Technology is integrated into daily life far more than in the U.S. Korea is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It was easy and cheap to travel from Osan Air Force Base to Seoul by either charter bus ($4 to sit for a 45-minute trip) or train ($2 to stand for a 1-hour trip). Besides spending time in Korea’s famous capital city, I traveled extensively around the peninsula, to include a trip to the northern border – the famous DMZ. I spent weekends at Sokcho beach on the east to learn surfing. I rode Korea’s high-speed train to Busan in the south to experience their famous street food. And I took multiple trips to the various mountain ranges scattered around Korea to hike, rock-climb, and camp with friends. Everywhere, even at the top of Korea’s tallest mountain on Jeju Island, I maintained a strong 4G connection with my inexpensive, unlimited-data cellular plan.
Looking forward, I intend to stay in Korea as long as I can. Not only did I gain well-rounded work experience, but I will forever be grateful for meeting my wife . If I’m required to return back to the continental United States as a result of the “five-year rule,” which rotates staff back to the U.S., typically five years into an assignment, we intend to come back as soon as possible. But I’ll be putting in for a waiver for sure! The country and FED employees make Korea a wonderful place to work. And being in the Pacific continues to open up plenty of travel opportunities. In a few months, we'll travel to Hawaii where we'll enjoy a late, but highly-sought after honeymoon. State-side, it’s not hard to find scores of people dissatisfied with their job. I honestly don’t see that at FED. I feel extremely lucky to be part of an incredible team. The internship has been nothing but positive. It gave me everything I needed to jumpstart my career with USACE. The free housing and meeting my wife were nice too.
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2019 21:50 |
| Story ID: | 330571 |
| Location: | U.S. ARMY GARRISON HUMPHRIES, KR |
| Web Views: | 141 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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