Dana Kim

Dana Kim, Class of 2024, attended our school since her sixth grade, and found that her Senior year drove her to form and hold tightly to the connections she’d made. “I realized that I should reach out to people even though I knew that we’re all going our separate ways,” she says, “but I realized how even though we’re going to move away, it’s important to stay close and reach out first and not just let them slip by because I love them so much, and I want to keep that connection.” Taking this to heart, while Dana is currently attending Sungkyunkwan University in pursuit of her medical degree, she remains in contact with friends who are studying in Singapore, the U.S., and other areas in Korea.

Dana remembers going on Spring Trips and connecting even more deeply with peers then. During one, which went to Nanjing, activities were wrapped up in the late afternoon, then attendees had free time, which Dana says, students would gather together and play games. “Actually, it’s kind of weird because the most memorable part wasn’t the actual activities, but the time we spent together.”

During a trip in her Senior year, classmates were encouraged to share what they appreciated about each other. “It was nice because a lot of the classmates who – we didn’t interact much – they still showed appreciation for things that I didn’t even realize I did.” In her peers’ Senior Departure journals, Dana says, “I wrote in every one of them as a response.”

In her time at our school, Dana was a House Leader, a Class Representative, led the Medical Club, took part in the Science Fair, was a member of the Student Council, and more. However, even with all this, she found that of the LifePlus 9 Qualities for Life, persistence was easiest for her to connect with. “Persistence, to me, is the easiest because it’s my role to be a student here. It was easy for me because it’s just what I do. I do this every single day, and it’s the most comfortable thing for me to do.” Yet, she also found that courage was a key quality she needed to incorporate in her day-to-day as she took on new roles and challenges. “I needed to change and try new things that I didn’t know if I would be fit to do.”

While here, she says she took to heart different phrases teachers would say in assemblies or classes. “Mr. Emerson would often give speeches during Choir class about life and attitude. It was something like ‘Change your attitude. Change your life.’ And those phrases that teachers would keep on repeating, those kind of stuck with me.” Even in university, she still recalls this, encouraging herself in the understanding that she can succeed.