Scholarships and Mentoring... "Gaya High Alumni Should Lead the Way"

Busan Gaya High School Alumni Donate 'Love' for Alma Mater Development

BNB Scholarship Foundation Supports University Student Juniors with Scholarships and Mentoring

Former Police Chief Kim Chang-ryong Gives Special Lecture as Mentor Team Le

A high school alumnus senior is operating a solid and practical project to help juniors.

The valuable project to support the growth of juniors mainly consists of scholarships and mentoring. This is a story of alumni from Busan Gaya High School.

They provide scholarships for college juniors and also volunteer as mentors to support their entry into society.

They also offer scholarships, relay special lectures, and mentoring for current high school juniors. The seniors have uniquely(?) united for the development of their alma mater and juniors.

At the center of junior support is Koo Kyung-yeol, CEO of BNB Steel Co., Ltd. in Pohang (Gaya High School alumnus, class of 26).

CEO Koo established the nonprofit organization ‘BNB Scholarship Foundation’ and has been supporting orphanages and college scholarships in the Pohang area. Since last year, he has extended his support to Gaya High School alumni juniors attending universities in the Busan area.

Last year, he generously donated 1 million KRW each to 9 students from Dong-Eui University and 7 students from Dongmyung University, and in February this year, he supported 10 students at Inje University with 1 million KRW each, totaling 10 million KRW.

Also, on April 27, at the Korea Press Center, there will be a scholarship award ceremony and mentee-mentor pairing event for 6 freshmen who entered universities in the Seoul area this year.

The mentoring program aims to provide practical help for juniors’ career paths and social advancement by connecting scholarship recipients who apply with senior alumni currently working in their desired fields, supporting them from university life to entering society.

To this end, the ‘Gaya High School Alumni Mentor Group’ was formed, and a launch event was held in Seoul on February 9. The mentor group leader is Kim Chang-ryong, former Commissioner of the National Police Agency and currently a visiting professor at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration (Gaya High School, class of 29).

At the mentor group launch ceremony, attendees included leader Kim Chang-ryong; Koo Kyung-yeol, CEO of Shinwoo Special Steel and BNB Steel; Kim Sang-yoon, CEO of BNK Venture Investment (class of 24); Kang Sung-sik, former Secretary-General of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (class of 26); Park Min, editorial writer at Munhwa Ilbo (class of 28); Kim Sang-chul, non-executive director at Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute and former head of the Industrial Department at Dong-A Ilbo; Woo Byung-hyun, CEO of Asia Economy (class of 29); Choi Yoo-sik, head of the Northeast Asia Research Institute at Chosun Ilbo (class of 30); and Park Sung-ha, lawyer at Dongin Law Firm (class of 32).

The mentor group proudly stated that the number of participating alumni continues to grow.

The direct love of seniors also reaches their alma mater, Gaya High School. On the 10th at 3 p.m., leader Kim Chang-ryong and fellow alumni seniors will visit their alma mater in Busan to present the BNB scholarships and deliver a special lecture aimed at motivating juniors about their dreams and future.

The special lectures are held six times a year, with Kim Chang-ryong, the mentor group leader, as the first speaker. In May, Professor Jang Jong-wook of Dong-Eui University’s Department of Computer Engineering (class of 26) will speak, and in June, Lee Yong-woo, a member of the National Assembly and former co-CEO of KakaoBank (class of 28), will be the speaker.

On the same day, there will also be a launch ceremony for the Busan branch of the Gaya High School Alumni Mentor Group and a mentor group for university faculty and staff in the Busan area.

Jung Joo-seok (class of 68), a second-year student in the Department of Film Studies at Dong-Eui University who was selected as a scholarship recipient last year, participated in the mentoring program last year and continues to interact with seniors in the media field. This year, he is participating as a mentor, teaching video shooting and editing to students in the Gaya High School broadcasting club.

Koo Kyung-yeol, chairman of the BNB Scholarship Foundation, said, “We want seniors with experience and wisdom to be guides for juniors who are struggling with their studies and social advancement,” adding, “As more alumni want to participate in the scholarship and mentoring programs, we plan to expand the supported universities and number of recipients starting this year.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.