Dynamo Cho

Four-year senior Yena Cho is not an average Exonian. As a proctor of Wheelwright Hall, member of the Discipline Committee, head of the Summer Fellowship Committee and ESSO Children’s Choir, co-head of Sans Hommes and Mock Trial Association and member of the Concert Choir, Cho is involved in a variety of activities that make up life at Exeter.

Many describe Cho as outgoing, hardworking and multifaceted, but she wasn’t always like this. Growing up and in middle school, she was shy and never liked talking in class. The breakthrough came at age 11, in Korea, when she sang in “Seussical,” a musical—she was casted as one of three “Bird Girls,” a role that traditionally requires a great show of energy and flamboyance.

“Being on stage for [the production] made me really enjoy—made me realize that I actually did enjoy—singing in front of people and performing in front of people,” Cho said. “I think it acted as a gateway for me to talk more in class, reach out to my peers or even adults.”

At the Academy, Cho’s early transformation in character has translated into her involvement with two singing groups on campus: Sans Hommes and Concert Choir.

Cho joined Sans Hommes, an all female a cappella group, during her prep year when a senior in her dorm convinced her to audition for the group. Now she sings as a soprano and leads the group in performances as a co-head. On the other hand, she finds singing in Concert Choir a completely different experience—conductor and music instructor Kristofer Johnson takes care of the overall group, so Cho can pay more attention to her own singing and become completely immersed in the music.

In Seoul, Korea, where she went to middle school, Cho didn’t have the chance to participate in community service. When she arrived at Exeter, however, she took the chance to give back to the community; her prep year, she joined ESSO Children’s Choir, which she has done ever since.

Cho is returning to the stage this term for the mainstage play, “Blood Wedding.” She will play the role of the Moon—interestingly, none of the characters in the show have names, with the exception of the protagonist, Leonardo. Although she had participated in a few musicals following her debut in “Seussical,” she had not been part of a normal play until she arrived at the Academy; her prep spring, she joined DRAMAT and was part of Class of 2015 Tucker Lemos’ play rendition of the show Firefly.

On a broader note, Cho’s contributions to the Academy have not been limited to the artistic sphere. She serves on the Summer Fellowship and Discipline Committees, and co-heads the Mock Trial Association.

As head of the Academy’s Summer Fellowship Committee, Cho helps the committee choose four or so students to run an independent project of their own interest every year. These off-campus projects are then brought back and shared with the Exeter community through assemblies and evening forums.

“[The fellowship program] is just a way for very talented Exeter students to go out and do something that they’re interested in, and have the support while they’re doing it,” Cho said.

Cho herself carried out an independent research project during the summer between her lower and upper year. She traveled to Kunming, China and interviewed migrant laborers and their children about access to education.

“Mock Trial is very intense,” Cho said, citing the hours of work the club’s participants put in before every trial. “It’s very competitive. But what I enjoy most about Mock Trial is the kind of people that it draws. It’s a very self-selective group.”

Senior Rebecca Ju, another co-head of Mock Trial, described Cho as a “natural and likeable” leader. “She’s great at keeping us organized and on task—she just gives it her all,” she said.

Both students and faculty have echoed Ju’s sentiments, when describing Cho in other fields of study. History instructor Michael Golay said that Cho is a very active student and “a joy to have in class.” Golay has known Cho since the spring of 2014 in History 215, and had her again in class this spring, in History 333.

“She was a big part of one of those terrific classes, full of bright, engaged people, that come along every so often,” Golay said. “She’s smart, well-spoken, well read and is a good collaborator. She also is a strong researcher and a highly skilled and sophisticated writer.”

Golay described her end-of-term 333 paper, which was a character study of John Quincy Adams, as a “superb” piece of work. “Yena is to be commended for tackling a subject taking an approach with a high degree of difficulty. It was a memorable 333,” he said.

Wheelwright dorm affiliate and history instructor Amy Schwartz agreed with Golay and said that Cho is “collaborative, curious, prepared, eloquent and yet never intimidating.” Schwartz has known Cho for a few years, both in and out of the dorm setting.

Outside of the dorm, Cho has shown the same hard-working personality in all that she does. According to upper Claire Dauge-Roth, Cho is “one of the best people” she knows. Dauge-Roth went on to say that Cho is a “driven and kind and incredibly genuine” individual.

Ju added on to Daugh-Roth’s thoughts, describing Cho as extremely talented yet modest. For example, Ju said, few people know that Cho missed a few days of class recently because she was invited to speak at Oxford.

“Yena is grounded, practical, extremely intelligent, ambitious, but above all, she has great intentions,” Ju continued. “She gives everything she does all she has, from clubs to schoolwork to friends. And she does it all because she is truly passionate about it.”

Cho has attributed her growth as a person to her dorm life. “I know that I would never be the person that I am today had I not lived in Wheelwright, had I lived in any other dorm,” she said.

As a dorm proctor, Cho wishes to create a similar experience of what she went through as a prep for her lowerclassmen. She had felt like she was part of a family, of something bigger than herself. She had known that the dorm was a place she could always return to.

“Living in the dorm, such an eclectic dorm, changed my Exeter experience entirely,” Cho concluded. “I would say that, first of all, I made friends with people who I would’ve never expected. Had I not lived in Wheelwright, I would have never even known them on campus. And that’s amazing.”