Ellie Kyong Driessen, 9 is a student at Lewis-Palmer High School that was an illegal alien at birth in Seoul, South Korea. Her father in the military had been stationed there.

She could not be born on a military base because her sister had muscular dystrophy. The doctors thought Driessen would need the respiratory care they would not be able to provide. She was then sent to a different hospital but had to be transferred elsewhere due to their NICU being shut down.

“That is something that never happens in America,” Driessen said.

Finally, she was born in a different medical center. Complications arose when she was born.

“I spent two weeks in intensive care because of a blood clot in my stomach,” Driessen said.

Because her parents were worried about Driessen’s health, her birth was not registered in time and was technically an illegal alien. As a result, her parents had to pay thousands of dollars.

Even though Driessen lived there for only two years, it was a drastic transition for her when she had to move back to America. For her, the food here in America was a massive difference. Her mother always told her that when she was younger she would ask for “bop”, which is white rice.

“I went to birthday parties where I wouldn’t want to eat the American food and I would always want white rice. The parents would always call my mom concerned because I wasn’t eating any of the food” Driessen said.

It has been 13 years since Driessen has transitioned from the Korean culture and is now thriving as an American citizen, but she still enjoys Korean traditions.