From GRS to Stanford

In my earlier posts, I wrote about life at GRS, the isolated mountain post where I served. This post is about my preparation to apply for Ph.D. programs while I was stationed there.

A Broken Finger

During my service, GRS had its first massive renovation in decades. The budget was tight, so the soldiers joined the construction work (carrying cement up the mountain, moving heavy appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, and hauling waste demolition materials down the mountain). One day, I was helping move a battery that weighed over 90 kg (about 200 lbs) when it tipped over, causing an open fracture in my finger.

Nobody forced me to help, and it was my own choice. The injury was serious, so I was evacuated to a university hospital. I underwent finger surgery under general anesthesia. I returned to my unit with a steel pin in my finger.

Because GRS has no roads, it was difficult to reach a hospital. I stayed at the battalion headquarters until the risk of infection decreased. Then, I volunteered to return to my unit earlier than required. Because of my absence, the rest of the crew had a brutal shift schedule, and I felt bad about it. Also, sitting at the battalion doing nothing made me feel like I was receiving a salary for free.

TOEFL and SOP at GRS

The injury did not change my goal to get a TOEFL score. I studied whenever I had time, memorizing vocabulary and solving practice problems during night duty.

I wrote my Statement of Purpose (SOP) the same way. I drafted sentences during my night shifts, woke up early after my post-duty sleep, and typed them on a computer at the base internet café (Ssajibang). I repeated this routine every day.

To search for labs, I printed and bound papers from the labs I liked whenever I went home on leave. I brought them back up the mountain, read them during my shifts, and organized my notes at the Ssajibang afterward.

MICRO 2025, Seoul

MICRO, the main conference in my field, was held in Seoul in 2025. I took leave and paid for my own expenses to attend the conference to meet the professors I wanted to work with. I made a one-page flyer that summarized my background and research interests, and I handed it out to the professors there.

I am very sorry and grateful to the labs that I did not join in the end.

Discharge Day

My military discharge date was the same day as my Stanford interviews. I was discharged at 8:30 in the morning and arrived home at 10:30. At noon, I interviewed with Prof. Christos Kozyrakis. At 4:00 a.m. that night, I interviewed with Prof. Kunle Olukotun.

I was a soldier in the morning and a Ph.D. applicant by noon. This day changed my life. I received my admission letter a few weeks later.

This fall, I start my Ph.D. at Stanford, which is a long way from a mountain post with no roads.