J.T. Ghim was born in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in New York City. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree with honors in Political Science and Philosophy from William Paterson University in NJ, a Master’s degree with honors in Political Science from University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and he has taught numerous courses in political science at both universities as instructor. His academic works have been presented at academic conferences and published in a book and newspapers.

J.T. went on to successfully start and operate a restaurant in the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts for three years. During his time there, he served on the Board of Directors for Downtown New Bedford, Inc, Editorial Board of The Standard Times, Regional Board of Directors for Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families, as Vice-Chair of the Human Relations Commission for the City of New Bedford, and Program Coordinator for eHealth Career Center at Bristol Community College, MA.

Before joining the Office of Experiential Learning at UCF, he worked to advise and guide numerous start-up and existing non-profit community organizations, academic institutions, and small businesses in the U.S., Africa, Asia, and Latin America.