Korean R&B star Lena Park (Park Jung-hyun) performed the U.S. national anthem at the Columbia University School of General Studies graduation ceremony on May 16 ,2010 at 9 a.m. in New York City. She received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University School of General Studies in English and comparative literature. Completing her bachelor’s degree was always a priority, even after her professional success. Previously, Lena Park attended UCLA for two years in the late 90’s, but withdrew to embark on her singing career in Asia. She stated, “Education has always been very important to me; I had grandiose visions of college as a child, and I worked very hard in high school. So even as I withdrew from UCLA, I did so always knowing I would come back to school to finish my degree.”

The Asian American singer was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and did not learn to speak Korean until she moved to South Korea to pursue her music career in 1998. Since then, Park has released seven Korean albums, two Korean singles, three Japanese albums and seven Japanese singles. At the request of the South Korean government, She performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Korea and Japan. Lena Park plans to return to Korea in the fall to continue in her music career. Look for more music from her soon.

Lena Park (Park Jung-hyun) sings at own graduation at Columbia