Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) Spec. Law, Justice and Public Policy Branch

My name is Gwon Lim. Please, call me Daniel if you ever see me in person. I’m a graduating student majoring in Public Administration (BPA) at York University. I’m just an ordinary man who lives with two dogs Woo-Ri and Jolie.

Except for a few of my friends, I have never told anybody this. I was first enrolled at York University in 2012 as an undecided major. Then, for five years as a part-time student, I was on a journey yet to discover what I will do in my life, what is meaningful to me, and what I am gifted to do. As you might expect, my school year was difficult and unsuccessful. In 2017, I was officially disbarred from my program for a year. This was the wake-up call for me to question what I will do for my life and to an extent who I ought to be. By these questions, I did not mean to simply ask what I like or don’t like. I had to ask myself what truly moves my heart, what inspires me, what my talents are, and what I can offer to my community.

With those questions in mind, I continued my academic journey through Seneca College for Law Clerk Diploma. I learned three crucial lessons: I learned that I am gifted with administrative assistance. I learned that many people are not privileged to receive sufficient legal and governmental services even though it is freely available due to their social status and their financial constraints. Then, I asked the next question: How  can I be a champion for those who are not fully privileged to receive public service?

Public Administration at York University was aligned with what I envisioned for my life, which is “to advance the public good.” The program was designed to equip me “with multidisciplinary knowledge, critical skills, and abilities to realize their vision to advance the public interest.” Today, I still hold onto the vision that everyone should benefit from public goods and services as their privilege, which is essentially public interest. Hence, I chose the BPA program so I can serve and assist the unprivileged and marginalized people in society. I went through the peak and valley in my academic journey. I also wasted time. But I can’t be happy enough to study in Public Administration because I know I can assist marginalized people and because I know now what I ought to be as an ordinary Canadian. I believe that my journey from now on will be full of interesting stories. Regardless of how many technical skills you learn, your identity and vision are the anchors of what path you will walk after you graduate. I suggest you ask yourself: Who am I? What can I do for my neighbours, communities, and Canada? Maybe you need time to think of yourself more than just your career goals. Otherwise, you will be bored of what you do. – Daniel Lim