Senior of the Week: Ben Soriano

By JOSEPH KIM, JINMIN LEE, ALEX LIM, and LILY RAMPE

Whether crushing his opponents on the volleyball team, performing music, leading clubs or hanging out with his friends in Front Street Dormitory, senior Ben Soriano is an important figure at Exeter.

Soriano does a great job handling a busy schedule, being a role model on the boys’ volleyball team, a co-head of Korean and Pinoy Societies, giving advice to students in his dorm as a proctor and former student listener, studying biology, and occasionally spending his free time playing Brawl Stars with friends. 

Pursuing his passion for the arts, Soriano is involved in many music clubs on campus, including choir and band. “My family has a really long history with music,” explained Soriano. “They play all sorts of instruments. Some of my family members sang a cappella in college, and some performed in professional jazz groups. So, I’ve been surrounded by music for a long time, and I started playing piano when I was really young. I initially started drifting away from playing the piano when I first came to Exeter because of my busy schedule. I also felt other people were better than me, which was a little bit intimidating. However, I’ve come to realize that the music department and community are very welcoming, which encouraged me to start expanding a little bit. So I started joining choir and a capella last year, which has been a super great group with some of my closest friends.”

Soriano explained how he created a band with his friends from choir. “I started by singing with my friends, and then I started a band with them,” he said. “So last spring, we started an EAR band, and that’s been super fun. Music has always been a source of comfort throughout my life, and playing in a band is something I do to relax. At the same time, it’s also something that I can use to push myself to make myself better.”

“Ben is great to work with in EAR,” said upper Wilson Rhee, EAR cohead. “My favorite memory with Ben was playing Summer of ‘69 by Bryan Adams at the spring EAR show last year with WABBA. It was great to see the entire band come together and perform. I could tell that Ben, who took a leadership role in the band, was very proud of what we had accomplished as a group. His willingness to try new things and pursue his passions inspires me greatly.”

Soriano is also involved in athletic activities on campus, mainly focusing on volleyball. Explaining how he started the sport, Soriano recalled, “Volleyball was actually something that I never thought I would play in high school. I grew up rowing in middle school and played soccer for my entire life.”

“However, during my prep fall, one of my friends encouraged me to try out for the volleyball team, which I didn’t even know existed,” he continued. “I went along for fun, especially because I had watched a volleyball anime with my family during the pandemic. How I made the team is still a mystery to me. I wasn’t the most skilled player, but I worked my way up from JV. Some of my closest friends are from the team because we have such a fun dynamic. We’re very serious but also not serious at the same time, keeping up with the competition while maintaining a cheerful spirit. I think it’s a team dynamic that you don’t see very often.”

Alex Johnson, a new upper, talked about the supportive and welcoming environment Soriano helps foster on the team. “When I visited Exeter last year to meet with the volleyball program, Ben was one of the first people I met. I didn’t really know anybody, but the whole day Ben stuck by my side and made sure I felt welcomed,” he said.

“He has an amazing, sunshiny, bright personality,” commented upper Robin Dao, Soriano’s teammate on the court. “He is also a reliable friend who will lend you a hand in your most difficult times. He’s empathetic and understanding.”

Lower Lake Zhou agreed, “Ben is not only a positive energy, but also a person that motivates you to do better. He cares for the things he does and is always striving to do better.”

Soriano is also a manager for the girls volleyball teams in the fall. “Working with Ben is really nice. He is always on top of things, and he’s willing to do whatever the team needs him to,” Johnson added. 

Two important clubs for Soriano are Korean Society and Pinoy Society. “I’ve been a part of both communities since prep year,” Soriano said. “They’ve been pretty big parts of my Exeter career. I like the relaxed nature of both clubs, which is the vibe that I want to maintain as a co-head. It’s a really nice way for me for people to connect with people from their culture. We also have people who are curious about different cultures, and the fact that both of them are cultural groups and not affinity groups opens the doors for people to drop by or bring friends along. I enjoy introducing more people to Korean culture and Filipino culture.”

Soriano’s club members described his supportive and welcoming personality. “I got to know Ben when I first joined Exeter Pinoy Society, the school’s Filipino culture club,” reminisced upper Joseph Vicente, a co-head of Pinoy Society. “His good character was on full display at every meeting, and he was always a welcoming presence, especially with new members, including me. Working with Ben is a breeze. He does an incredible amount of work for Exeter Pinoy Society and is always upbeat and animated during the meetings, which makes for a great time.” 

“I got to know Ben first through Korean Society,” shared upper Avery Im, a co-head of Korean Society. “I’ve gotten to know him better this year, and he always works very hard for the club. My favorite memory is him always smiling and greeting me. As a new lower, I felt welcomed by his genuinely kind presence.”

Lower Bryan Cho, a member of Korean Society, agreed. “His down-to-earth attitude made it easy to bond with him as a lowerclassman. He always brings positive energy to the table. He’s always optimistic, even when he’s having a bad day, and encourages others to be positive about their day.”

Cho continued, “His ability to smile through hard times in life and help others to do so as well is a huge inspiration for me. I would love to become a Ben for someone else in the future.”

Soriano also leads Democracy of Sound, a club dedicated to installation and design using sound and mixed media. Senior Aymeric Douge-Roth, a co-head with Soriano, said, “As a fellow co-head, I have seen how open Ben is to different club members’ ideas. His leadership brings projects to fruition.” 

Soriano talked about stepping out of his comfort zone and finding joy in meeting more people. He stated, “I used to like staying in my room most of the time and didn’t interact with a lot of people. However, as I became an upperclassman, I spent more time in the common room, talking with people and connecting with dorm faculty. Ms. McBrearty, our dorm head, really helped me become more social. Also, as I rose into my leadership positions as a proctor and student listener, I started meeting more people. In the process, I realized that I loved connecting with people, and I started coming out of my shell and exploring myself more. My dorm has played a large part in what has made me kind of like the person who I am today.”

One of Soriano’s closest friends in the dorm is senior Paco Sze. “We were both part of E cubed our prep year, which was part of ISO. We hit it off instantly. We both played Brawl Stars, so we connected a lot. We just had a really good time during prep year and then we stayed together on the same floor. We were right next to each other in the lower year, so we spent a lot of time together. Now we have similar friends and talk with each other a lot,” Sze said. 

Sze continued, “You know, he’s a really cool person, and he can be really introspective at times. He gets serious and is really talented in a lot of ways. He is really good at biology. But he’s also goofy most of the time and doesn’t take himself too seriously, which I really admire. That’s why I enjoy his presence.” 

Mardian Kamarga also spoke about Soriano’s role in the dorm. “This year, he is a proctor in Front Street Dormitory, and he’s a great one. I guess I always enjoy talking to him because he is a very positive person. But I almost always just hang out with him when I’m playing brawl stars,” Kamarga said. 

I’d say he’s a super outgoing guy,” Kamarga continued.” He will find space to talk to you if you need to talk to him about something. He gives great advice almost all of the time. And, of course, this is kind of his job as a proctor, but he’s super approachable.”

Senior Rohit Kantamneni, a good friend of Soriano, said, “Ben needs to stop his brawl stars addiction.”

Soriano is a role model in and out of the dorm. Kamarga said, “For me he is certainly one of the figures that I look up to at Exeter. I consider him a model dorm mate and person because he is a very good friend.”  

Senior Jaansi Patel, Ben’s longtime friend, added, “Ben is a very kind, authentic, and supportive friend. He’s the kind of person that you can share both silly moments and deep talks with. He also can see the best in anyone and approaches everything he does with a lot of passion.”

Giving advice, Soriano emphasized how students should live in the present more. Citing Master Oogway from “Kung Fu Panda,” he concluded, “Yesterday’s history. Tomorrow’s a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.”