Have you met Yeon Soo, leopard print lover and Universal Design & Accessibility Facilitator with the Office of the Dean of Students? Spend a few minutes getting to know her better.
What is your first U of A memory?
I asked my parents to drive me to visit the Augustana Campus in Camrose, Alberta from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for my 17th birthday weekend. I don’t think the recruitment team knew that it was my birthday, but I still had a bespoke campus visit where I got to sit in on a lecture, talk to current students and explore the campus on my own. I even got to sleep in dorms because I was visiting from out-of-town! The experience helped me feel like I belonged there. That feeling is my first U of A memory. I later worked for that recruitment team, which felt like a full circle moment where I got to help high school students feel the way I did about attending the University of Alberta.
What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?
I have a deep commitment to leopard print — I own leopard print furniture, plates, towels, bedding, stationery and many other things in addition to the leopard print clothing they often see me in.
What’s your favourite distraction?
Making a really labour-intensive recipe. I will happily chop, whisk and stir things all day as a distraction from responsibilities. It helps that there is a payoff of good food at the end.
If you were enrolling in one course, program or degree right now, what would it be?
I would love to take courses in planning or human geography! I’ve been trying to drive less and walk, bike or transit more recently. I have been wondering why my neighborhood and city were designed a certain way.
What’s a weird pet peeve you have?
Flat sheets on beds — what’s the point?!
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
My mom! But I would ask her to cook. She lives in a different province, so I don’t get to see her or eat her Korean cooking as often as I’d like.
If you could see any live performance tomorrow, what would it be?
Shania Twain.
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Take life less seriously and take fewer naps. Both will help you live life to the fullest.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
The public library.
What three words describe your U of A experience?
Laying down roots.
About Yeon Soo
Yeon Soo Ha (she/her) was born in Seoul, Korea and attended eleven different schools before becoming a student at the University of Alberta’s Augustana Campus. After graduating, she held various roles in post-secondary student services including recruitment, academic advising, and student wellness. Now, Yeon Soo works as a Universal Design & Accessibility Facilitator with the Office of the Dean of Students. In her spare time, Yeon Soo spends time in her community garden and tries to read 100 books every year.