What are they doing now?: Interview with William Kim (2015 Graduate)

Written by Zoe Lee

William Kim (3rd from right to left in the front row) at Johns Hopkins University

What are you currently doing?

W: 'Til last Friday, I had midterms every week so I was spending a lot of my time studying and doing my assignments. I am planning on finishing up my resume and applying for a research position during this spring break. Of course, I will be just chilling most of the spring break though.

Can you give us some information about what you're studying now?

W: I am majoring in biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering is related to various areas of medical science, from instrumentation to imaging to cell tissue science. This is the reason our major is one of the few majors that have five concentrations you will have to choose later. For example, if your concentration is instrumentation (which I am thinking of), your classes in your junior and senior years will be focused on kinematics and mechanical engineering. If your concentration is imaging (which I do not know much about yet), I believe you will be studying computing and e&m (electricity and magnetism). There really is so many things you can do studying BME. However, we do not really delve into our field until sophomore year. So currently I am taking many intro classes, such as Introductory Expository Writing, General Physics, and Intro Computing for Biomedical Engineering (Python, MATLAB, and R).

Where do you plan to go after college?

W: I am planning on going into industry, although I am still thinking about applying for a veterinary med-school.

How's campus life? 

W: Doing assignments and taking exams stress me out sometimes, but I am balancing it out by having fun with my friends. We often go to Inner Harbor on Fridays and Saturdays and get some nice dinners.

How has graduating from/going to Oak Hill Christian School affected you? 

W: It helped me have a broader worldview. Hopkins is different from Oak Hill mainly in that Hopkins does not base its academic program on Christian ideas. Having studied with the Christian worldview helps me examine what I am learning here, not just accepting it as the only truth.

Do you have something to tell the international students who go to Oak Hill?

W: I know that many of the international students' goal is going to a well-respected university. But I would like to tell them that when you are choosing a college it is essential that you choose a college that suits you, meaning you really want to know about the university thoroughly before choosing one. Also, what you learn in Oak Hill may be different from what most of you learned in your country and probably from what you will learn in a university. However, studying in Oak Hill is a valuable experience. It will broaden your thinking and nurture your knowledge. I would like to emphasize to get most out of Oak Hill's English classes.

3/12/2015
Zoe Lee, zoel@oakhillk12.com

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Mokomandy - Modern. Korean. Cajun.

Written by Abigail Thoburn

I didn't know exactly what to expect from a restaurant that I could not, did not, even know how to pronounce. Nor one that is part of a shopping center. But I know what I got: absolutely wonderful food.

Mokomandy is a small but efficiently operated dining experience. Everything is done professionally and with a modern twist, but the staff is so real. The chef (one of only five employees) traveled the world and loves to cook food from all cultures. He has cookbooks lining the shelves by the kitchen. The kitchen itself is so small so you can watch the chef and his assistant as they work.

Mokomandy Interior 1

The staff are friendly, calm and easygoing. They treat each other like family, always ready to help clear each others' tables, or refill water. Though there aren't many workers, each one is interested in interacting with the guests. While washing our hands at the public sink (which is equipped with an automatic and massaging hand-washing machine), my brother and I noted an oil diffuser, a staple at our own house. The waitress spent time to show us the bird sounds it made, and she dug out the oil from the cabinet then chatted and smelled the different oils with us. The staff are just really pleasant to be around, and so genuine. They are also knowledgeable about the menu and the restaurant owner. Overall, they are quite helpful with recommendations and great people to be served by.

The food and menu are designed to be shared (honestly who would eat more than two gator croquettes anyway).  The seafood was extremely fresh; the shrimp etoufee was especially delicious. The jalapeno hush puppies were surprisingly flavorful and the gator croquettes were pretty tasty.  As it is ready, the food comes out from the kitchen in a steady stream, so it's fun and simple for all to grab a bite. Also lending to the sharing aspect, they don't accept reservations for more than six.  It's a calm, cozy atmosphere where everybody's included.

Cool Pepper Tuna Ssam 2

The food is meticulously prepared. I've never seen so much care put into each dish. Nothing was so-so, and everything was different; we weren't just served a table full of fried and buttery things. Everything had a nice purpose. They had three house-made hot sauces. I went for the hottest one. But it wasn't that same ole my-mouth's-on-fire-I'm-going-to-be-sick. It was flavorful, and I actually enjoyed it. Don't worry, it was hot, and the tingle stayed in my mouth for a bit, but it wasn't stupidly hot for the sake of being hot. It had a goal and that goal was flavor.

Not only do they have great appetizers and entrees, but the waitress offered dessert. When my surprised father asked, "You have dessert?" she responded, "Of course, we're a restaurant!" I took this to mean we have to serve dessert, so you can have a cookie or a brownie with or without ice cream. Boy, was I wrong. They served us creme brulee, mini pies (with amazing crusts), French press coffee, and a classy white candle for the birthday girl. I got chocolate, caramel, and chicory. They hand dipped my caramel in dark chocolate and sprinkled toasted candied nuts over it. that wasn't even the whole dish, just a detail. Again, they were meticulous.

Lavender creme brûlée 3

I am looking forward to a return visit to Mokomandy, to try their homemade biscuits and gravy, and come octopi season, their famed Pasta! And, the name is pronounced moe-koe-man-dee.  The Asian-fusion restaurant gets its name (and menu) from the owner's parents.  His father is Korean and his mother is Mandy, from Louisiana.  They have the perfect blend of modern Korean and spicy cajun cuisines.








1 Picture from SethDesignGroup. http://www.sethdesigngroup.com/projects/mokomandy-restaurant-branding/

2 Picture from Regina D. on Yelp. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mokomandy-sterling?select=woH_T0LRQt-k-o0i4eClqQ

3 Picture from Jennifer N. on Yelp.http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mokomandy-sterling?select=lKf7r8eXnStlJna_HIuv1A

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Mediterranean Breeze Review

Written by Aileen Kong and Karis Kim

Mediterranean Breeze Exterior 1

On Friday, we decided to have a Quill meeting at “Mediterranean Breeze” located in Old Town Herndon! Abigail, Bobby, and Seth knew this restaurant had delicious gyros, so they recommended we try out the other special dishes like pizza in there. But the curious thing was that a Greek place sells pizza! According to their website, Mediterranean Breeze is not just Greek or Italian. They serve “Authentic Greek & Italian cuisine with a casual feel.” To be honest, Authentic Greek dishes are not that familiar for Koreans, so we expected and worried at first. After school, Mr. Thoburn gave us a ride so we could reach the restaurant safely.

First, we ordered The Breeze Combo and salad for our appetizer. Everything in the Breeze Combo was fried nicely, so the cheese sticks and chicken tenders had a nice crispy texture. The cheese sticks were not too stringy. And if you had the cheese sticks, you would surely get a warm feeling. The crab dip had a surprising amount of crab and was satisfying. Bobby said, “It soothes your tongue.” And Seth said, “It’s almost like a soup.” It even goes well with the cheese sticks. The wings were so-so. Although the chicken had nice taste, it was a bit dry. But the chicken tenders were pretty moist, flavorful, and crunchy.

The Breeze Combo

After that the Greek salad came up to us!! “My favorite was…the salad,” so said Karis. The dressing on the salad was light and refreshing, but still held fresh flavour, All of the vegetables were fresh and crisp, the lettuce was obviously fresh cut, not out of a bag.

The next one was a Margherita pizza. After Bobby had a bite, he said “Tastes Mediterranean!” Basil was spread throughout. Tomatoes were fresh. Crust was good, but not amazing, it could be a bit more chewy. The cheeses in every dish such as a pizza, cheesesticks, salad; all of the cheese was amazing. Then later, nearing the end of our meal, Bobby stole a few last bites and noted, “It’s hard to tell whether the pizza’s better right when it comes out of the kitchen or when it’s sat there a while. They are both good, but different.”

The Fish and Chips, the day’s special, were not exceptional as they lacked flavour, but they weren’t overly buttery like most restaurants.

For desserts, we ordered a Cheesecake and Baklava. When we heard the word “Baklava”, we were not sure what it is. So the waiter gladly helped us choose portion sizes, as we were unfamiliar with what to expect. The Cheesecake was obviously New York Style, plain and simple. It was also delicious. It contained a bit of cinnamon, and wasn’t too sweet. The Baklava had some pecans instead of pistachios and it was a bit higher-end than the normal squares served at a Greek restaurant. The interest of this dessert was that it had lots of detail in this dessert: thin layers of phyllo, roasted pecans, and maybe even cloves. We highly recommend you to order this if you will visit here!
The overall service of this restaurant was fairly fine. The server didn’t interrogate us, but offered little switches like onion rings for fries. Extra dishes and straws showed that the host was managing the restaurant in a sanitary way. Before we even had to ask, the host provided a steak knife and helped cut our baklava so we could share it.

Greek Omelet 3

They had a bar with beautiful Mediterranean artwork in the next room. It was casual with a nice murmur. They played folksy pop music that people are familiar with but not annoyed by.

Overall, we were pleased with the freshness of the place and the cheeses throughout the dishes were astounding. If you are looking for a good Mediterranean restaurant, you could try some dishes at “Mediterranean Breeze.”





1 Picture from Miriam W. on Yelp. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-breeze-herndon-2?select=sByGGOqRMHxxexwkzPCJcA

2 Picture from Steve L. on Yelp. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-breeze-herndon-2?select=mbue7WtryBDt5iD5TIwNDA

3 Picture from Sarah S. on Yelp. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-breeze-herndon-2?select=h7fMGtuEKkxxb3VDglNWhw

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National Gallery of Art

Written by Vu Tran

On Monday 11/15/2015, Oak Hill Christian School took a field trip to the National Gallery of Art. The trip was focused on Renaissance art. We took the metro train to Archives station, then walked to the gallery. When we arrived, we divided into two groups according to the two classes : art class and literature class; we each followed our own tour guide. I’m writing this as a student of the literature class.

Rembrandt's Lucretia

We sought, we hunted and we went after a lot of gems in the gallery. The most significant painting we saw was Alba Madonna by Raphael, painted in 1510. Our tour guide explained why it is a gem of the gallery : John the Baptist, Jesus and Mary were all looking at the cross, that’s first. Second, the pose of  Mary was unrealistic but she appeared to naturally cover both Jesus and John. Third, the painting was a circle, so we could focus more on the event happening in the picture. Finally, we couldn’t find any sharp lines sketched in the painting on any details such as the chin, the elbow… All of the features softly combined to create a masterpiece. We found another gem which the Omnibus class studied previously in the year: Rembrandt’s Lucretia. 

But the gems in the gallery were not only paintings, but also sculptures. Even though it wasn’t part of the trip, we managed to observe one sculpture : Little Dancer Aged Fourteen by Edgar Degas, made in 1878 and originally formed in wax. At this point, our tour guide had done her job but luckily there was a college art student over there who explained the statue to us: he said that this sculpture is famous because this is the only sculpture Degas ever exhibited publicly and it was through wax. Degas dressed her image with much detail from the hair, and the pose, to the cloth garments. And it was so real that people cast her in bronze after his death just in case the original statue became damaged. Through his sculpture, he portrayed a poor girl who danced for the Paris Opera, Marie van Goethem. Just in case you don’t know how big it is, here are some pictures we have (Asian for scale.)

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Shoe Box of Love

Shoe Box of Love

Written by Karis Kim and Calvin Tran

Christmas is coming closer! But before Christmas day comes and goes, don’t you want to do something meaningful? Why don’t you send your love to adorable children in a shoe box? It will forever be a valuable memory. Oak Hill organized a competition in which they collected these boxes that will soon be sent to needy children all over the world. Many in Oak Hill joined in this wonderful event.

Oak Hill Student Council collected the gifts into shoe boxes to help children at orphan asylums. We are hoping they will have a blissful time this Christmas with our gifts. Our Student Council prepared the main collection boxes for each grade, and these are the principal students who helped and decorated these boxes: Aleon Niu, Cris Cheng, Cindy He, Hannah Tran, Karis Kim, Zoe Lee, Mata Bai, and Whitney Yang.

The Main Collection Boxes for Each Grade

4-5 Grade and 11 Grade Collection Boxes

Collection Boxes

Thank you to all who helped this project, by bringing boxes and gifts. And a big thank you to Miss Fluegge for helping manage this event and for organizing the packing party.

On November 12  we had received 67 boxes from the students of Oak Hill Christian School. Our community hosted a contest to see which class brought in the most boxes from November 2nd to 13th. Although the 6-8 grade class appeared to be ahead from the beginning, K4 pulled ahead the last day, winning the competition. 

In the past, the school has donated about 40 boxes a year, but this year the total has reached 145 boxes! We hope this project makes the children and the students happy!

Oak Hill Christian School Shoeboxes of Love 2015

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