This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Cal Poly chapter.
Everyone on Cal Poly’s campus has some admirable qualities. But very few, if any, can say that their legs are legally weapons. Our latest Campus Cutie is one of these few people. Hailing from Los Alamos, California comes Art and Design second year, Ubi (YOU-be) Kim.
Her Campus: What do you do for a living?
Ubi Kim: Currently, I work as a server at Kokoro’s Sushi & Grill. I am also a full-time student, yaaay…
HC: What is your dream job?
UK: Okay, there are two parts to this. Starting out, I want to be a fashion designer for Calvin Klein or Polo Ralph. And then, eventually, I want to have my own clothing business at that tier.
HC: Tell us about your experience with Taekwondo.
UK: I started doing Taekwondo when I was four because my dad was the instructor and he owned a dojo. I trained under him for my whole life until senior year of high school. I got my black belt when I was eight and my second degree black belt when I was 14.
HC: And what’s this about your legs legally being weapons?
UK: So, if you’re trained under a certain martial art and you become certified as a black belt master by the World Taekwondo Federation, you get a document that says, no matter where you go, you’ll be a black belt. So, if I were to ever get into a street fight or something, and if I were to use my legs in self-defense, they could charge me for using a weapon against them.
HC: Who would play you in a movie about your life?
UK: The obvious person would be, like, Jackie Chan or someone. But, I really have no idea… Maybe John Cho from “Harold and Kumar.”
HC: What is your personal anthem?
UK: “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled!
HC: What is your favorite memory from your first year at Cal Poly?
UK: GETTING HELLA SWOLE AT THE GYM. No, I’m totally kidding. Honestly, I want to say my favorite memory was coming up with Broga and having that whole group of people with me. (Broga, or “Yoga for Bros,” was a nightly event outside Palomar for residents, hosted by Ubi.) And WOW, WOW was a really good time. And being a WOW leader this year was really fun. I love my wowies. They’re good people and they’re adorable.
HC: What’s your favorite thing to do in SLO?
UK: I really like going downtown, getting Firestone with some buddies, ice cream sandwiches from Batch.
HC: What is your favorite clothing brand?
UK: *Exclaims in excitement* I have so many… Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger are probably my favorite. Giorgio Armani, too. For shoes, I really like Louboutin.
HC: Favorite pastime?
UK: I really like shopping, I just never have the money for it because I spent it all at the previous shopping trip. And just in general, I like hanging out with my friends, going to the gym, swimming, whatever.
HC: What is your favorite food?
UK: Dang…a really nice, high-quality Korean barbeque
HC: If you could be any fictional character, who would Ubi (ba-dum tss)?
UK: *”Potter Puppet Pals” voice* Dumbledore! Just kidding. I would be Aang from “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
HC: Explain an inside joke you have with someone.
UK: There’s this stretch during Broga that looks like you’re mid-twerk. So, whenever we did that, my roommate Mike and I would look at each other and be like, “Mmm, tverking-yah” like “twerking” in a bad Swedish accent.
HC: If you could co-star with anyone in a movie, who would it be and what’s the genre?
UK: That’s so easy— James Franco and Seth Rogen in a comedy.
HC: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Emma Watson and Jennifer Lawrence—pick one to date, marry, have one as your BFF or have a one-night-stand with.
UK: Beyoncé—BFF. Taylor Swift—one night stand. There are going to be a lot of songs written about me. Jennifer Lawrence—date. And Emma Watson—marry. She’s got the best genes. She’s really smart.
HC: What is your ideal adventure?
UK: I really want to go zip-lining in the Grand Canyon, or on a camping trip in the Redwoods or the Himalayas or somewhere crazy.
HC: What would you do with a million dollars?
UK: I would pay off college and then I’d want to do little things like tip the pizza delivery guy a hundred dollars. I’d tip servers really well at my favorite restaurants because I know what it’s like to be a server. I’d take my mom for a trip with a first-class plane ticket and five-star hotel somewhere she really wants to travel. I know she really wants to see an opera at the opera house in Sydney. I’d probably also buy a bunch of clothes and a decent car. And then I’d invest what’s left and save it for my kids or use it as a startup for my clothing company.
HC: What’s your favorite quality in a person?
UK: For a physical quality, I like girls with long legs. Personality-wise, someone that’s there for me and supports me and is really accepting of the things that I choose to do. Like, I don’t want her to tell me not to buy $200 shoes that I want, someone that accepts me and what I want to do in life. That’s one of the most comforting things. If you’re with someone that says “You can’t do that,” or “You shouldn’t do that,” it puts you inside a box.
HC: A genie grants you three wishes, what do you wish for?
UK: *Aladdin reference* “Genie, make me a prince!” No…honestly, there are so many people that have to deal with stress and, as a result, commit suicide. I would want that person to have a button to press that instantly makes them happier. Second, I would wish for world peace and, lastly, I would wish for a life-size Dino Nugget.
HC: You have a time travel machine, where are you going to go?
UK: I would go to when Muhammad Ali fought Sonny Liston and watch ringside. And then, I would want to see the grieving period of my death. I think that would be really interesting. Personally, it would be comforting. I would want to make sure that what I did in life was not wasted, that I had a good impact on people.
HC: What’s one piece of advice you would give to freshmen?
UK: To freshmen, I’d say the big thing with coming to college is going out to parties and stuff. Like, have fun in college—but my advice is that, if you choose to do that, don’t slack off to the point where you aren’t studying and failing classes and getting on academic probation just because you can’t control your party urges. The point of coming to school is to learn. Partying should be a fun thing to do on the side, not the main thing to do. And do your push-ups in the morning!