Over 200 Andover students are “third culture kids,” including Seyoung Lee ’12, who presented this statistic and her research on cross-culture students in her CAMD presentation on Friday, January 27.

Third culture kid (TCK), a term coined in the 1950s by American sociologist Ruth Hill Unseem, refers to children “who spend a significant part of their developmental years outside of their parents’ culture,” according to David C. Pollock, a current American sociologist.

While Lee’s parents are South Korean, Lee currently resides in Hong Kong. Lee, herself a TCK, made her presentation personal.

“I wanted to do a CAMD scholar presentation on kids like me who’ve grown up from place to place,” said Lee.

In the presentation, Lee introduced the concept of TCKs to audience members and provided examples of common TCK experiences. A question and answer session and small group discussions with other Andover TCKs and Café Forum members followed her speech.

In her research for the presentation, Lee read several books on TCKs and interviewed many Andover students.

Through her research, Lee learned that many people underestimate the difficulties of having an unconventional lifestyle as a TCK. After moving repeatedly or residing in foreign countries, TCKs often have trouble fitting in with peers. It can be challenging to leave family, friends and special places behind, according to Lee.

Susanne Torabi, International Student Coordinator and Lee’s faculty advisor for the presentation, said, “Other people can’t identify with [TCKs] and don’t understand what the downfalls are and the other side of such a lifestyle.”

Lee said that she has struggled to identify with a single culture as a TCK. However, she also said that her various backgrounds have allowed her to connect with many people at Andover.

Tina Quick, author of “Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Between Worlds,” attended the presentation and shared some of her research in the discussion group. Lee had corresponded with Quick prior to her presentation.

Lee posed several discussion questions to stimulate the small group conversations that followed her presentation. The questions challenged audience members to ask themselves how TCKs should identify themselves and what the meaning of community is in the contemporary world.

Each group discussion approached the questions in a different manner, according to Torabi.

Lee decided to work with Torabi for her CAMD research because Torabi is an immigrant, and her children have grown up as TCKs in the United States. Lee said that she thought that Torabi would be a useful resource because Torabi has experienced the issue firsthand.

Lee hopes to apply her research to the Andover community directly. She plans to work with Jane Fried, Dean of Admissions, to add a question to the Andover entrance survey that asks whether the applicant has lived in a culture different than his or her parents.

Lee also intends to meet with Sean Logan, Director of College Counseling, to discuss how TCKs can best transition into college.

Aya Murata, Pine Knoll Cluster Dean, suggested the research topic to Lee when Lee approached Murata about applying to become a CAMD Scholar.

Lee’s presentation was the fourth and final CAMD Scholar presentation this year.