Vanguard University

Sulki Kim is an Assistant Professor of Psychology who was born in South Korea. Her family immigrated to Fresno, California's Central Valley, for her dad's graduate school in accounting.

"Growing up in Fresno, I graduated from a school of 2,400 students and I could probably count the number of Korean students on my hand. When I was studying for my PhD, I was working through the idea of Asian American identity. The ideas of beauty and success can be very culturally defined. A lot of my research was influenced from my experience from my past."

Like many immigrants before them, her family ended up settling in the US where Sulki pursued her career. She completed her undergraduate from the University of California, Berkley and finished her PhD in Educational Psychology at the University of California Los Angeles. Before committing her life to psychology, Sulki was an engineering major at Harvey Mudd University for a year.

"I guess I attribute my schooling partially to my mom. My mom was a teacher in Korea and went to a prestigious school there. I'm a teacher's kid and remember going to class with her having a lot of fun. I like school and trying to apply as much life application as possible." 

After finishing school, Sulki stayed busy raising her children. She became an adjunct part-time at Irvine Valley College and other neighboring colleges before coming to Vanguard. Sulki believes the collegiate years are crucial in affecting change in a student's life. She encourages students to go beyond the classroom to get to know people and discover new ideas and jobs.

Vanguard is thankful for Sulki's heart in mentoring our psychology students preparing them for their next step in life and we're excited to see where they will go next.