Introduction
The inaugural Katalyst 2024 was held in Atlanta, GA on March 1 – 3, 2024. Katalyst (Korean-American Mentorship and Leadership Immersion for Young Scientists and Technologists) is a new program within KSEA YG that is designed for leadership and career development of Korean-American undergraduate students in STEM by providing a platform for mentorship and networking. Katalyst aimed to nurture future Korean-American leaders in STEM, preparing them for their next steps after undergraduate education, whether it be in academia or industry. Over 65 students, VIPs, speakers, and mentors attended the very first Katalyst event.
The theme for Katalyst 2024 was: “First Steps for Rising Leaders: Navigating Pathways to Success”. The theme highlights Katalyst 2024’s goal to empower and equip undergraduate students with the knowledge, skills, and mindset needed to embark on a fulfilling journey towards leadership and personal growth. The event focused on illuminating the diverse pathways to success, fostering leadership potential, and cultivating a supportive network that will serve as a guiding force throughout their endeavors. Through thought-provoking workshops, inspirational talks, and interactive sessions, participants gained valuable insights, build essential leadership competencies, and forge connections that propel them towards becoming influential leaders in their chosen fields.
Participant Demographics
Katalyst 2024 attracted a diverse array of undergraduate students geographically, by academic status, and majors. 61.7% of participants were female. 37% of participants were from the East coast, 29.6% central, and 33.3% from the West coast. Some notable schools that students participated from included Harvard University, Princeton University, Brown University, University of Southern California, The University of Texas at Austin, Georgia Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Vanderbilt University, and Purdue University. 33.3% of participants were undergraduate seniors, and 25.9% were undergraduate freshmen. 33.3% of participants were from the engineering fields, followed by 29.6% in Life Sciences and 18.5% in the computer science majors.
Katalyst 2024 invited 11 mentors composed of individuals with less than 10 years of graduation from undergrad. Please see the full list of mentors below:
Opening Ceremony
The conference started with opening remarks by the Katalyst 2024 chair, Dennis Cha. Dennis shared his experiences of finding a mentor as an undergraduate student and the profound impact it had in his career development. KSEA President Yongho Sohn also attended to give welcome remarks. The Atlanta Consul General, Sangpyo Suh, also attended as a sponsor to give his remarks.
Leadership Session
The leadership session allowed participants to present their previous experiences and insights into leadership. Participants were grouped into 3 blocks. Each block had 2-3 presenters, followed by Q and A. Topics ranged from effective team management, to insights learned through revitalizing student organizations.
Lunch
During lunch, participants were arranged by their majors, and 1-2 mentors joined each table to provide their perspectives regarding their field. This was a valuable networking opportunity for undergraduate students to meet a mentor in their field in a close setting.
Mentorship Part 1: Focus Group
The first part of the mentorship session was the Focus Group, where participants went through 3 rounds of discussions with mentors at different tables. Topics that were discussed were the following:
- Taking charge of your own professional aspirations/Maximizing a mentor-mentee relationship
- Being a leader in your field (regardless of whether you’re in a leadership position or not)
- How to navigate career transitions between industries and academia
- Effective networking and relationship building (building your network horizontally)
- Work-Life balance and Mental Health
Research and Innovation in Academia vs Industry
Focus Group was largely a participant-led conversation between their peers and mentors. This session provided a less stressful avenue of networking between mentors and mentees through structured discussion on the aforementioned topics.
Mentorship Part 2: Panel
The second part of the mentorship session was the Panel session. Mentors were split into either an industry or academia-oriented panel, and participants were given the choice to attend either panel. The panel included pre-arranged questions from the moderator, as well as participant questions.
Mentorship Part 3: Open Networking
In the last part of the mentorship session, participants were given open networking time, where they freely networked with mentors and their peers. The Open Networking session was free format, but it provided a realistic example of successful networking and communication during conferences that participants would be attending in the future.
Poster Session The Poster session allowed participants to present their research and/or their journey in developing their careers throughout their undergraduate years. Mentors and other participants freely visited each poster and gave ratings to the ones that they visited.
Dinner
Dinner was held at Ormsby’s in the Westside Provisions District of Atlanta. Participants were encouraged to connect with both each other and the mentors in an open seating format. No alcohol was catered due to the presence of underaged participants during the event. This was an opportunity for participants to interact and network with each other in a non-formal setting over food and games.
Closing Ceremony
During the closing ceremony, the participants gathered to reflect on their experiences attending Katalyst 2024, and rated themselves on how their skill sets have developed over the day of networking and programs. Notably, participants rated that their abilities to network and build lasting relationships with mentors has increased the most after attending Katalyst 2024. Ellie Shin and Ashley Kim were respectively awarded best oral presentation and poster presentation winners. After closing remarks by conference co-chair Clara Kim and a brief presentation of how to get more involved with KSEA YG, including scholarship opportunities, Katalyst 2024 was concluded.
Conclusion
Overall, Katalyst 2024 was a very successful event. Despite being its first year, Katalyst 2024 was able to achieve many successes, including an above target number of participants and successful sponsorship efforts. Overall, participants rated their experience at Katalyst as 9/10, with the Focus Group Session being the most popular. The mentors in attendance also had very positive feedback, commending the undergraduate attendees’ enthusiasm and active engagement in the event. Participants also commented that the event was very well-executed and professional, and were very thankful to KSEA for this unique opportunity to get mentorship from successful young professionals. We look forward to having a great event next year as well!
Press coverage
- https://atlantachosun.com/news/401992
- https://newswave25.com/%EC%9E%AC%EB%AF%B8%EA%B3%BC%EA%B8%B0%ED%98%91-%EC%B0%A8%EC%84%B8%EB%8C%80-%EB%A6%AC%EB%8D%94%EC%8B%AD-%EC%BB%A8%ED%8D%BC%EB%9F%B0%EC%8A%A4-%EC%95%A0%ED%8B%80%EB%9E%9C%ED%83%80%EC%97%90%EC%84%9C?amp%3D1
- https://news.koreadaily.com/2024/02/28/society/community/20240228142720833.html
Organizers
Dennis Cha, Chair
Clara Kim, Co-Chair
Ryan Shin, Sponsorship Team Lead
Andy Kim, Admin/Program Team Lead
Wonjae Choi
Taehee Kang
Allie Yoon
Harry Park
Report prepared by:
Clara Kim, Katalyst 2024 Co-Chair
Harry Park, Katalyst 2024 Organizer
Corporate Sponsors
Individual Sponsors:
Jaehoon Kim ($1000), Kangwook Lee ($500), Greena Kim ($500), Anonymous donor ($500)
KSEA e-Letters 