Byun With Nature

It’s 6 p.m. and in fishbowl of Wetherell Dining Hall, residents of Main Street Hall are sitting at one of the three large tables in the middle, having a cheery, typical dinner conversation. From the end of the dinner line, the boys’ laughter is clearly audible, and at the center of the conversation is senior Brian Byun, talking and smiling with his fellow dorm mates.

Since his prep year, Byun has loved Main Street Hall, and his love for the dorm has been one of the most essential facets of his Exeter life.

"I love Main Street," Byun said. "Some of my best friends and best memories are within our cinderblock walls."

As a proctor, Byun has been able to develop close relationships with those in his dorm by constantly providing a source of guidance and care. According to his peers, he always tries to help those around him, and strives to lend advice those who are in need of it.

Lower and resident of Main Street Steven Kim said that Byun has been an outstanding proctor for the new students so far, especially at the beginning of this academic year.

"At the start of this year, I noticed that Brian was with preps a lot, helping them adjust, asking them how their social life was and addressing any issues they might have with prep fall or their academics," Kim said. "[He] definitely thinks of other people more than himself. He’s a caring leader and a parental character. He’s more like a father than a friend."

"[He] definitely thinks of other people more than himself. He’s a caring leader and a parental character."

Prep Francisco Baviera Maloney agreed and said that Byun helps him by offering advice any time he needs it.

"As a proctor he’s always there, literally. He gives very useful advice—not only school advice, but life advice."

Alongside his duties as a proctor, Byun has proven to be a close friend to many.

Senior Marcus Polk said that after late-night study sessions and snack breaks in the dorm, Byun has become one of the most supportive and closest friends at Exeter.

"My favorite memories of Brian inside the dorm are almost always late at night after a long night of work," Polk said. "We would just forget about sleeping and share music and green tea while wrapping up biology labs. It was nice having someone to chill with in the heart of winter when most of campus was feeling down. He's always had low key high spirits even when it was sleeting and -5 out."

Upper Will Ettinger echoed Polk’s sentiments and added that to many students in Main Street, Byun is like a family member.

"I've got a closer relationship with him than I do with a lot of other guys in the door, so as a dorm mate he's always there. He thinks of Main Street as his home, and treats us like his family. I'm never really bored when I'm around him, but at the same time he's not insistent; he's an awesome conversationalist as well," Ettinger said.

Although dorm life is a major part of Byun’s life at Exeter, it does not fully characterize or capture Byun’s diverse Exeter career. For example, during his lower year, Byun went to the Bahamas for a term abroad at the Island School. Byun said that his time in the Island School centralized around sustainability and environmental education, which provided him with a new perspective he couldn’t have acquired if he had stayed on campus that term.

"Ever since coming back I don't think I've looked at the world in the same way," Byun said. "I often get carried away with the rigor of Exeter; Island School taught me to break from the daily routines and take a moment to appreciate our surroundings."

In addition to that, the the several months at the small Caribbean islands inspired Byun to take action towards environmental causes, and initiate ways to promote sustainability on campus.

"I learned a lot about the natural world when I was abroad, and I hoped to continue to learn and promote sustainable habits at Exeter."

As a co-head of the Environmental Action Committee, and an active member of the E-Proctor board, Byun’s endeavor to turn the campus green has been admired and appreciated.

Along with his fervor for environmentalism, Byun has also been an active Exeter ambassador. In the past he has served as one of the International Student Orientation (ISO) leaders.

"Brian was really helpful, explaining in detail what certain Exonian terms and phrases meant and where everything was located in Exeter. He also told me some side facts such as where I should go when I needed cheap supplies or cheap snacks, and more advice like that."

Apart from his membership of the Environmental Action Committee and his E-Proctorship, Byun also serves as the Business Manager of PEAN. He emphasized that he enjoys "being part of and supporting an organization that encourages the community to reflect on their year and share memories."

With PEAN, Byun decided to venture into business, for it was something new and enjoyable that he had never tried before. His leadership skills are apparent as he tackles sales and distribution of the books.

Regarding Byun’s contributions and efforts in PEAN, one of the PEAN advisors, Joseph Wolfson, commented on Byun’s flair in improving the publication as well as his dedication.

"He’s an outstanding business manager," Wolfson said. "He operates on a different level than all of us in PEAN. He’s efficient, smart, thoughtful and looks ahead. He’s also recently pushed us to make our books cheaper to raise money, so we’ve spoken David Hanson, [the Academy’s CFO] and we’ve gotten some funds, which we’re going to use to make PEAN more affordable for people."

"He doesn’t need to be told what to do, he’s always thinking several steps ahead," Wolfson added.

Byun is also actively involved in Exeter Social Service Organization (ESSO). Because he was a competitive figure skater in Korea before coming to Exeter, he runs the ESSO Figure Skating club, which teaches young children around campus how to figure skate.

"It's been gratifying to share my passion with kids," he said.

After graduating from Exeter, Byun said that he is considering to become a college major of Urban Studies, a study that delves into city culture and the ways urban areas respond to problems and events.

"I want to learn about how people interact with the urban environment," he said. "Maybe I'll be an urban planner when I grow up... who knows?"