Invest in Kim's Postgraduate Education
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Hi! My name is Geonhee Kim Monaghan, originally from South Korea and I am in my 2nd year of a part-time weekend Legal Practice Course. Its completion date is in August 2020. I would like to tell you my life story which may bless your heart. The following is a shorter version but if you would like to know more about me, I would be blessed for you to read a longer version following the summary below.
[Summary]
Background
Having gone through traumatic childhood experiences, I struggled to manage stress and depression since I was a child, but I had a vision to help people like me. I left my home country at the age of 16 and lived in an affordable Christian boarding school for less than a year in the Philippines, with volunteering host families for 3 years and a roommate for a year in the US and landladies in the UK who charged me minimum for rent during my undergraduate life. I received a living maintenance bursary for a year from a Christian charity organisation and worked at restaurants, cafes, shops and as a freelance translator, English/Korean tutor and babysitter until I graduated Oxford Brookes University in June 2016. I had a tragic event in my last year at the University but by the grace of God, the University offered me a year's worth of fees scholarship to re-do my third year and I did. My degree is a Bachelor of Law (Honours) and the result was 2:1.
While I was suffering from the effects of the tragic event in my 3rd year at the University, I met a believer who I knew was meant for me and we married after I graduated. We then received a surprise gift from God in early 2017- a baby girl. Without knowing that the little bean was growing in my tummy, I got a full-time administrator job and started the part-time Legal Practice Course. I took a break from the course when my daughter became 5-month-old to re-organise our family finances, plans and career plans. Then life went on and I felt led to share my story on gofundme.com to bless those who happen to notice it.
Why Law?
It all started when I met a volunteer advocate living in the boarding school I went to in the Philippines. After learning that she had been voluntarily preparing legal documents for under-represented people to have access to justice and appropriate help from the government, I was inspired to have a legal education in a privileged country such as the US or the UK. The advocate had connected me to a Christian schooling agency in South Korea which then supported me to apply to a Christian high school in the US and find American host families. I knew that I would come to the UK for further education because of my faith and vision God had given me about this country so I proceeded with the LLB route at Oxford Brookes University.
Why LPC?
I knew that my characteristics were not suited to a city life at a Magic Circle law firm but instead to reach the goal God had set in my heart, I needed to acquire practical knowledge in law. So, I applied for the LPC and got accepted. My path has led me to believe that I have an entrepreneurial spirit, as I am planning to launch an online retail business by summer next year. To familiarise myself with the legal side of running a business, I undertook Commercial Law and Practice last term and am scheduled to study towards Intellectual Property Law and Practice, Employment Law and MSc in Law and Business as the rest of my electives for the Course. This is also for the future needs of my business and to network with lawyers.
Finance Breakdown
LPC Guildford Total Fee for 2017-18: (£12,565)
Postgraduate Loan for Year 1: £5,140
Savings: £1,725
Intermittence Cost: (£300)
Remaining Fee in 2018: (£6,000)
LPC Birmingham Total Fee for 2018-19: (£13,150) + £6,865 = (£6,285)
Postgraduate Loan for Year 2: £5,140
UK Spouse Visa Extension Cost: (£2,033)
Family Emergency: (£3,107)
Remaining Fee in 2019: £6,285
Mitigating Circumstances
Without receiving a maternity pay from my employer for ten months, we welcomed our new addition, a baby daughter, to our family in October 2017. I had to rely on the government’s maternity allowance and my husband’s wage when my mother came to live with us for five months to help with childcare after the birth. The following year, my grandfather passed away due to heart failure, so I had to fly back to South Korea for his funeral and this was only a year after one of my closest uncles passed away for the same reason. Despite having financial difficulties, I could not give up on my study not only because of my passion for learning law but also because the University of Law cannot allow me to drop the course now without charging me for the remaining balance of the tuition fee, £6,285.
[Full text]
Having been from an underprivileged background, I have always worked hard since I was 16-year-old with a dream to mediate relationships between nations. I wanted to become a diplomat of South Korea. I think this dream came to me as a result of my parents wanting to separate in my childhood. My father still works 7 days a week, 6-7 in the morning until very late at night at a factory and my mother volunteers most of her time at a local church in Korea. Both of my parents are now physically unwell, my father had a few accidents in his life and my mother survived throat cancer though she has never been a smoker. They regularly go to the hospital for check-ups and medical service is not entirely free in South Korea. My father cannot retire because of his financial commitment to my family.
I left my home country when I was 16-years-old to study in the Philippines, the United States and here in the United Kingdom. I was a brave girl like a little soldier with a belief that educating myself would be the best investment return I could ever give back to my parents. I lived in an affordable Christian boarding school for less than a year in the Philippines, with volunteering host families in the US for 3-4 years and amazing landladies in the UK who rented me a rent at a very minimum rate during my foundation degree year and undergraduate student life of 4 years. While I did my foundation degree in London, I received the living maintenance bursary for a year from a Christian charity organisation and worked at a restaurant and an academy institute to support myself for living in London. I came to Oxford for a Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree and worked at restaurants, cafes and shops and had freelance jobs as a translator, English/Korean tutor and babysitter until I graduated Oxford Brookes University in June 2016. I self-funded myself for food, rent, transport, travels to South Korea, 1/3 of the University tuition fee for international students, study laptop, stationery, textbooks and donations to World Vision. My final result was 2:1. I had a mitigating circumstance so it took 4 years to complete the 3-year-long undergraduate degree and did a 4-weeks-counselling course to recover from it and received 1 year worth scholarship from the University. The other 1/3 of the tuition fee were funded by my parents at that time and the rest of the 1/3 tuition fee were partially borrowed from my University friends who I paid back first thing on my pay day and partial funds were donated by a pastor from a local church.
After graduating, I married a wonderful British believer in August 2016 who had a quite amount of student debt at that time but has a pure heart for God, received my spousal visa which costed me a fortune in October 2016, got a support staff job at the University of Oxford since November 2016 and without knowing that I was pregnant, I took a postgraduate loan of £10,280 to start my master degree at the University of Law which was £12,565 for Sep 2017 start fee. I managed to pay £6,462.40 out of the loan despite giving a birth in October 2017 without any maternity pay support from my employer and had to take a break from the course from April 2018 to March 2019 as I was also paying for my mother's living and travel expenses to help us with childcare for five months since birth. I received maternity allowance for 9 months which was very minimum and it was the most difficult time in my life financially, emotionally and spiritually. The intermission costed £300, plus our electricity bill rocketed from having two extra people, my mum and baby living on my husband's wage, for five months.
In the same year, my grandfather passed away due to heart failure following one of my closest uncles' death in the previous year from the same cause, so that my savings and the rest of the student loan were spent to cover for several trips to South Korea for the funeral and paying back to credit card companies for debts. I am going to see my family again this December to be there for them for an even shorter period of time.
I have been living in my mother-in-law's house since last August with my husband and my baby and pay rent. We still have some debts to clear in our credit cards but I could not give up on my study not only because of my passion for learning law but also the University of Law cannot allow me to drop the course now unless paying for the rest of the tuition fee £6,285. (There has been a slight fee increase to resume the course from 2018.) My result for 1st year of the part-time course has been 2:1 so far and I have strength and trust that I can push myself to achieve a higher result in my second year by August 2020. After being signed off from work for ten days due to work related stress, I have recently started a therapy treatment for survivors of childhood trauma and am hoping to continue it from October this year. I learnt that I lack the ability to manage stress which should have been developed whilst I was a child and that it may take some time to completely treat my mental health as my faith and earthly life have been interrupted by the phycological intervention for more than ten years now. I work as a part-time administrator at the University of Oxford and I cannot generate more income to cover for the tuition fee, because I literally have no time to extend my working hours or have extra work while looking after my baby and studying towards the Legal Practice Course. Receiving £6,285 tuition fee investment for my life will not only prevent me from having more credit card debts and being drowned in financial burdens but also impact on my baby and husband's life to see me without tuition fee stress every day.
Why law? I was led to believe that this would be the best way to improve my English skill to acheive the vision I had at the age of 16 and acquire very important knowledge to provide practical help with people's mediation. Once I complete the Legal Practice Course, my immediate vision is to launch my own business starting with no debts to help people from poor countries to have a job to support themselves and their family. I have potential suppliers already that I hope to meet in Feb or Apr next year and am gradually structuring my business strategy to recruit designers for my products etc when the right time comes. I have taken Commercial Law and Practice, Business Law and Practice and some foundational modules last term and will take Dispute Resolution, Employment Law and Practice, Intellectual Property Law and Practice, MSc in Law and Business, Real Estates and the rest of the foundational modules. I think my past paths of life have been preparing myself to become a business diplomat for South Korea one day to protect the government's commercial interests and help its citizens in Europe, North America and other Asian countries. Until then, my immediate focus is to successfully complete the LPC by August 2020, be the best mother I can be for my daughter and the best wife to my husband and keep trying to progress with my current career to expand my skill-set for my future life and work goals.
If my story blesses you and you would like to invest any amount in my life, the following are what I promise:
1. I will create a blog by the end of Dec 2019 to share my academic progression, personal life diary and career progression with you;
2. I will write a book by the end of year 2020 to potentially publish online which will help people who struggle with finance, childhood trauma, life goals and social relationships at school, work and in general life to find common ground with my story and be uplifted to try something similar to make a change and be set free from financial dilemmas.
For donors with more than a £50 contribution, I will personally write a thank you letter with a little something you can remember that you have blessed someone's life and your blessing is also on your way. Please send me your address unless you would like to remain anonymous.
For donors with more than a £100 contribution, I will write your name on my blog and my book as a funder of my postgraduate education and send you my personalised letter with a little something that may bless your heart. Please send me your address unless you would like to remain anonymous.
For donors with more than £200 contribution, I will send you a VIP invitation to my online retail website, when launching next year with a little thank you voucher to spend on the website, as well as a thank you letter and a little something to bless your heart. Please send me your address unless you would like to remain anonymous.
I thank you for reading my story and pray that it has blessed you to know that if God evidently made a way for my life to not only survive financially but also thrive academically, He can do the same for you. Miracles do happen and blessings are everywhere around us- your generous heart to help me with your every penny investment will be remembered by us.
With my sincere appreciation,
Geonhee Kim Monaghan
[Summary]
Background
Having gone through traumatic childhood experiences, I struggled to manage stress and depression since I was a child, but I had a vision to help people like me. I left my home country at the age of 16 and lived in an affordable Christian boarding school for less than a year in the Philippines, with volunteering host families for 3 years and a roommate for a year in the US and landladies in the UK who charged me minimum for rent during my undergraduate life. I received a living maintenance bursary for a year from a Christian charity organisation and worked at restaurants, cafes, shops and as a freelance translator, English/Korean tutor and babysitter until I graduated Oxford Brookes University in June 2016. I had a tragic event in my last year at the University but by the grace of God, the University offered me a year's worth of fees scholarship to re-do my third year and I did. My degree is a Bachelor of Law (Honours) and the result was 2:1.
While I was suffering from the effects of the tragic event in my 3rd year at the University, I met a believer who I knew was meant for me and we married after I graduated. We then received a surprise gift from God in early 2017- a baby girl. Without knowing that the little bean was growing in my tummy, I got a full-time administrator job and started the part-time Legal Practice Course. I took a break from the course when my daughter became 5-month-old to re-organise our family finances, plans and career plans. Then life went on and I felt led to share my story on gofundme.com to bless those who happen to notice it.
Why Law?
It all started when I met a volunteer advocate living in the boarding school I went to in the Philippines. After learning that she had been voluntarily preparing legal documents for under-represented people to have access to justice and appropriate help from the government, I was inspired to have a legal education in a privileged country such as the US or the UK. The advocate had connected me to a Christian schooling agency in South Korea which then supported me to apply to a Christian high school in the US and find American host families. I knew that I would come to the UK for further education because of my faith and vision God had given me about this country so I proceeded with the LLB route at Oxford Brookes University.
Why LPC?
I knew that my characteristics were not suited to a city life at a Magic Circle law firm but instead to reach the goal God had set in my heart, I needed to acquire practical knowledge in law. So, I applied for the LPC and got accepted. My path has led me to believe that I have an entrepreneurial spirit, as I am planning to launch an online retail business by summer next year. To familiarise myself with the legal side of running a business, I undertook Commercial Law and Practice last term and am scheduled to study towards Intellectual Property Law and Practice, Employment Law and MSc in Law and Business as the rest of my electives for the Course. This is also for the future needs of my business and to network with lawyers.
Finance Breakdown
LPC Guildford Total Fee for 2017-18: (£12,565)
Postgraduate Loan for Year 1: £5,140
Savings: £1,725
Intermittence Cost: (£300)
Remaining Fee in 2018: (£6,000)
LPC Birmingham Total Fee for 2018-19: (£13,150) + £6,865 = (£6,285)
Postgraduate Loan for Year 2: £5,140
UK Spouse Visa Extension Cost: (£2,033)
Family Emergency: (£3,107)
Remaining Fee in 2019: £6,285
Mitigating Circumstances
Without receiving a maternity pay from my employer for ten months, we welcomed our new addition, a baby daughter, to our family in October 2017. I had to rely on the government’s maternity allowance and my husband’s wage when my mother came to live with us for five months to help with childcare after the birth. The following year, my grandfather passed away due to heart failure, so I had to fly back to South Korea for his funeral and this was only a year after one of my closest uncles passed away for the same reason. Despite having financial difficulties, I could not give up on my study not only because of my passion for learning law but also because the University of Law cannot allow me to drop the course now without charging me for the remaining balance of the tuition fee, £6,285.
[Full text]
Having been from an underprivileged background, I have always worked hard since I was 16-year-old with a dream to mediate relationships between nations. I wanted to become a diplomat of South Korea. I think this dream came to me as a result of my parents wanting to separate in my childhood. My father still works 7 days a week, 6-7 in the morning until very late at night at a factory and my mother volunteers most of her time at a local church in Korea. Both of my parents are now physically unwell, my father had a few accidents in his life and my mother survived throat cancer though she has never been a smoker. They regularly go to the hospital for check-ups and medical service is not entirely free in South Korea. My father cannot retire because of his financial commitment to my family.
I left my home country when I was 16-years-old to study in the Philippines, the United States and here in the United Kingdom. I was a brave girl like a little soldier with a belief that educating myself would be the best investment return I could ever give back to my parents. I lived in an affordable Christian boarding school for less than a year in the Philippines, with volunteering host families in the US for 3-4 years and amazing landladies in the UK who rented me a rent at a very minimum rate during my foundation degree year and undergraduate student life of 4 years. While I did my foundation degree in London, I received the living maintenance bursary for a year from a Christian charity organisation and worked at a restaurant and an academy institute to support myself for living in London. I came to Oxford for a Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree and worked at restaurants, cafes and shops and had freelance jobs as a translator, English/Korean tutor and babysitter until I graduated Oxford Brookes University in June 2016. I self-funded myself for food, rent, transport, travels to South Korea, 1/3 of the University tuition fee for international students, study laptop, stationery, textbooks and donations to World Vision. My final result was 2:1. I had a mitigating circumstance so it took 4 years to complete the 3-year-long undergraduate degree and did a 4-weeks-counselling course to recover from it and received 1 year worth scholarship from the University. The other 1/3 of the tuition fee were funded by my parents at that time and the rest of the 1/3 tuition fee were partially borrowed from my University friends who I paid back first thing on my pay day and partial funds were donated by a pastor from a local church.
After graduating, I married a wonderful British believer in August 2016 who had a quite amount of student debt at that time but has a pure heart for God, received my spousal visa which costed me a fortune in October 2016, got a support staff job at the University of Oxford since November 2016 and without knowing that I was pregnant, I took a postgraduate loan of £10,280 to start my master degree at the University of Law which was £12,565 for Sep 2017 start fee. I managed to pay £6,462.40 out of the loan despite giving a birth in October 2017 without any maternity pay support from my employer and had to take a break from the course from April 2018 to March 2019 as I was also paying for my mother's living and travel expenses to help us with childcare for five months since birth. I received maternity allowance for 9 months which was very minimum and it was the most difficult time in my life financially, emotionally and spiritually. The intermission costed £300, plus our electricity bill rocketed from having two extra people, my mum and baby living on my husband's wage, for five months.
In the same year, my grandfather passed away due to heart failure following one of my closest uncles' death in the previous year from the same cause, so that my savings and the rest of the student loan were spent to cover for several trips to South Korea for the funeral and paying back to credit card companies for debts. I am going to see my family again this December to be there for them for an even shorter period of time.
I have been living in my mother-in-law's house since last August with my husband and my baby and pay rent. We still have some debts to clear in our credit cards but I could not give up on my study not only because of my passion for learning law but also the University of Law cannot allow me to drop the course now unless paying for the rest of the tuition fee £6,285. (There has been a slight fee increase to resume the course from 2018.) My result for 1st year of the part-time course has been 2:1 so far and I have strength and trust that I can push myself to achieve a higher result in my second year by August 2020. After being signed off from work for ten days due to work related stress, I have recently started a therapy treatment for survivors of childhood trauma and am hoping to continue it from October this year. I learnt that I lack the ability to manage stress which should have been developed whilst I was a child and that it may take some time to completely treat my mental health as my faith and earthly life have been interrupted by the phycological intervention for more than ten years now. I work as a part-time administrator at the University of Oxford and I cannot generate more income to cover for the tuition fee, because I literally have no time to extend my working hours or have extra work while looking after my baby and studying towards the Legal Practice Course. Receiving £6,285 tuition fee investment for my life will not only prevent me from having more credit card debts and being drowned in financial burdens but also impact on my baby and husband's life to see me without tuition fee stress every day.
Why law? I was led to believe that this would be the best way to improve my English skill to acheive the vision I had at the age of 16 and acquire very important knowledge to provide practical help with people's mediation. Once I complete the Legal Practice Course, my immediate vision is to launch my own business starting with no debts to help people from poor countries to have a job to support themselves and their family. I have potential suppliers already that I hope to meet in Feb or Apr next year and am gradually structuring my business strategy to recruit designers for my products etc when the right time comes. I have taken Commercial Law and Practice, Business Law and Practice and some foundational modules last term and will take Dispute Resolution, Employment Law and Practice, Intellectual Property Law and Practice, MSc in Law and Business, Real Estates and the rest of the foundational modules. I think my past paths of life have been preparing myself to become a business diplomat for South Korea one day to protect the government's commercial interests and help its citizens in Europe, North America and other Asian countries. Until then, my immediate focus is to successfully complete the LPC by August 2020, be the best mother I can be for my daughter and the best wife to my husband and keep trying to progress with my current career to expand my skill-set for my future life and work goals.
If my story blesses you and you would like to invest any amount in my life, the following are what I promise:
1. I will create a blog by the end of Dec 2019 to share my academic progression, personal life diary and career progression with you;
2. I will write a book by the end of year 2020 to potentially publish online which will help people who struggle with finance, childhood trauma, life goals and social relationships at school, work and in general life to find common ground with my story and be uplifted to try something similar to make a change and be set free from financial dilemmas.
For donors with more than a £50 contribution, I will personally write a thank you letter with a little something you can remember that you have blessed someone's life and your blessing is also on your way. Please send me your address unless you would like to remain anonymous.
For donors with more than a £100 contribution, I will write your name on my blog and my book as a funder of my postgraduate education and send you my personalised letter with a little something that may bless your heart. Please send me your address unless you would like to remain anonymous.
For donors with more than £200 contribution, I will send you a VIP invitation to my online retail website, when launching next year with a little thank you voucher to spend on the website, as well as a thank you letter and a little something to bless your heart. Please send me your address unless you would like to remain anonymous.
I thank you for reading my story and pray that it has blessed you to know that if God evidently made a way for my life to not only survive financially but also thrive academically, He can do the same for you. Miracles do happen and blessings are everywhere around us- your generous heart to help me with your every penny investment will be remembered by us.
With my sincere appreciation,
Geonhee Kim Monaghan
Organizer
Geonhee Kim
Organizer
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