A completion ceremony for the second graduating class of Samsung Software Academy for Youth (SSAFY) was held virtually last June. The nervous faces that were apparent in the beginning were nowhere to be seen, with only confident developers proudly being congratulated for their successful completion. In the ceremony, the Korean Ministry of Labor and Employment and Samsung Electronics awarded trainees who have shown excellent performance.

Now let’s hear the story of Ji-sun, who was one of the graduates who received the Minister’s Award for her achievements.

Being part of a special tribe moving towards the same dream - by Ji-sun Lee, a SSAFY graduate who received the Minister's Award

As a psychology major, software was a distant concept to me. I joined SSAFY with a goal to become a developer but I often felt overwhelmed by the unfamiliar subject and intensive curriculum. There came times when I wanted to give up. Luckily, I did not have to go through this alone. The friends at SSAFY were like a tribe who walked hand in hand towards the same goal, motivating each other to keep moving forward.

We helped each other out, organized our own algorithm study sessions every morning and shared personal concerns about our future and our career paths. Some friends were pulling an all-nighter as the program was moved online, and their hard work inspired me a lot.

In the welcoming ceremony on the first day, I never thought the testimonials from previous awardees to be my story. After a year, it turns out that I had all the potential to receive this prestigious award as well.

I hope my personal experience has given you confidence that you can do it as well. I hope your experience at SSAFY will be a fruitful time. I, as well, will build on the experience at SSAFY to never shy away from any challenges and constantly strive to perfect myself to leap one step further as a developer.