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Visually-impaired Korean high school girl gets admission into Princeton

Visually-impaired Korean high school girl gets admission into Princeton

Posted May. 23, 2020 08:27,   

Updated May. 23, 2020 08:27

한국어

Lee Yeong-eun, a Korean high school student living in the United States who is visually impaired, got accepted to Princeton University, one of the most prestigious U.S. colleges. She is a granddaughter of Sohn Byung-doo, former president at Sogang University and vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries. Her mother is Sohn Yoo-ki, the second daughter of Mr. Sohn, and her father, Lee Jong-cheol, serves as Samsung Electronics’ North America Legal/Compliance Team Leader.

Lee said on April 23 in a social media post that she got accepted to Princeton University despite serious visual impairment. The senior at Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest was announced as one of the members of the 56th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars. Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program honors up to 161 top-performing students in the nation every year.

Lee was also awarded last year’s Coolidge Scholarship, one of the most renowned U.S. scholarship programs. Named after the 30th U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, the Coolidge Scholarship provides awardees with four years’ college tuitions and boarding expenses. After Lee was denied entry to restaurants accompanied by her guide dog Maggie in 2017, she decided to create Visually Impaired Total Access (VITA), an organization to advocate those with visual disabilities. Lee has volunteered as a mentor to a networking group for visually impaired teenagers, which she founded in New Jersey.


jyr0101@donga.com