Meet Anselmo Kim, a senior majoring in sports management, who wants to make his career in soccer once he gets out of college.
Kim was raised in London with his two older sisters but was born in South Korea.
He has lived in the United States since he came to college as a freshman in 2016 to join the NW men’s soccer team
He started all four years that he played for NW and in 2018, he was Second Team All-GPAC. He was a midfielder his freshman and sophomore year and a forward his junior and senior year.
In the 2019 season, Kim held the number two rank on the team with seven goals, three assists, and 17 points.
Kim’s parents are both from South Korea, a country known for its rich green countryside, sacred Buddhist temples, and fishing villages along the coast, as well as its technologically advanced cities, like Seoul, its capital.
When Kim was very young, the company that his father worked for re-located him across the eastern hemisphere to their branch in London. This switch was not as drastic for Kim, as he was very young when it happened. It was a little bit of a bigger difference for his two older sisters.
However, the family made their home in London, a city of proud landmarks, art popular to places around the world and historic governments foundational to the country of the United States itself.
London has a population of just over 8.9 million versus Orange City’s 6,000
Being someone who is naturally extraverted, Kim was surprised at the size when he arrived at Northwestern. He had always dreamed of going to college in a big city.
When he was choosing where to go for his college education, he didn’t have to do much leg work, thanks to how the school systems send out word about students in London, especially when it comes to sports.
“Northwestern was the only one who took interest in me personally,” Kim said.
Northwestern’s professional-level facilities also convinced Kim to come, as well as the level of academics and other affairs.
Of course, it was still quite a jump to go from a large city to a tiny town in northwest Iowa.
“If I’d have known it was such a small town, I would’ve been skeptical about it,” Kim said. “But I love it here now.”
One of the biggest reasons his love for the place has grown is the quality of which you get to know people.
“Obviously, in London, you have your group of friends,” Kim said. “But in a place like this, where it’s not as busy, you get to know people here on a much deeper level.”
The sense of community here is peaceful to Kim.
“Here, you’re able to walk down the street and say hi to almost anyone passing by, whether you know them or not. If you were to do that in London, where people are walking with their headphones in all the time and just going, they would stop and ask, ‘Do you know me?’” Kim said.
Graduation is on the horizon for Kim. He hopes to head off to Toronto and play professional soccer. He dreams of being gifted with success in his career but also to one day be a good husband and father.
Those goals, however, along with constantly being a good Christ follower, are things that Kim will always be striving for.
