David Kim

Wearing a bright red polo, David Kim walked onto campus as a prep confident that he “was the sh*t.” He’d attended Exeter Summer just a few months before, and since the red brick buildings were all familiar to him, he was sure he’d fit in seamlessly. It took some time, and an attitude change from prep year, but he was right. 

As a senior, D. Kim moves with ease from Club Room A where he leads discussions on Asian identity, to Elm Street to plan the next senior class event as the class vice president, to the Wentworth common room greeting preps as they check in. In all of these spaces, D. Kim is known as a welcoming presence on campus—a solid rock and shoulder to lean on.

D. Kim still doesn’t know if he was actually accepted into the Academy. He was initially waitlisted, and on the day where he found out whether or not he would be accepted he “got an email saying [he] didn't get off the waitlist and was rejected from the school [Exeter],” he said. “But then my dad got a call from somebody in admissions, or a dean—I’m not sure—and they said, your son is actually is in, congratulations. So I was like, what? Because it was like hours after that email.”

But D. Kim is undeniably an Exonian now—he sees it as an “act of fate.” “I'm so glad that they called and they said I was accepted,” he said. Kim joked that the possibility of a David Kim mixup was very possible, especially given the plethora of David Kims at the Academy now.

After a hectic admissions process, D. Kim moved in to Wentworth Hall ready to meet his classmates. He vividly remembers his first day in the dorm: a line of proctors by the glass bubble, offering to lift his suitcases. “They all said, ‘We'll help you move your stuff and then Liam Oakley—a proctor [standing] next to me said, ‘What room are you in?’ And I told him,” D. Kim said. “I thought that was like the nicest thing ever.”

D. Kim now recognizes that the small efforts proctors make are essential in building relationships and community.

“I try to do check in as long as I can, because I honestly like saying ‘hi’ to everybody and showing them that I know their name,” he said. “It's really tough for a lot of people to know everybody's name in the dorm, and I try to make an effort to know everybody’s name because it's...the worst feeling if somebody doesn't know your name. If [anyone] has anything to talk about, [they] can come in and we can talk about it.”

As a member of the football team and both winter and spring track teams, D. Kim hopes to be an inspiration to younger athletes in addition to his dormmates—especially representing Asians, who are commonly stereotyped as being unathletic. “ When you think of a football player, you don't think of an Asian because you don't see Asians in the NFL. And I love sports, like a lot of Asians,” he said. “Seeing Jeremy Lin or Yao Ming in the NBA— that's crazy. And it makes me feel so happy...I wanted to show how Asians aren't unathletic [when I came to Exeter]. I always wanted other people to be surprised— like, ‘Wow, this Asian is good at sports,’ That sentence doesn't make sense in a lot of people's minds, and that was one of my biggest motivations during sports.”

D. Kim has engaged in many other clubs during his time at the Academy, most of which share a common thread: serving those around him. “I think he really strives to be a valuable member of the community,” sister and lower Allison Kim said. “And that might be a part of why he's in such clubs that help a lot of people— that's what's important to him and a big part of his values.”

D. Kim brings his enthusiasm for his work with children to ESSO clubs, according to ESSO Basketball co-head and senior Katya Davis. “This year we both became co-heads and it's been a lot of fun just running the club with him,” she said. “I know the kids really love him and they and they'll try to steal the ball from him and things like that. He’s just vibrant, and he shares that energy with everyone.”

One of Kim’s most important commitments at Exeter is Student Council. Ela Ferhangil ‘19 first met Kim through Student Council’s Recreation Committee as co-heads. “He was very nice and had a lot of energy,” she said.  “I instantly knew he was going to be a great addition to the rec committee team.”

Over the time Ferhangil and Kim spent on the committee, they devoted time to creating new events. “I had so much fun planning and organizing the first Beach Ball dance with David in 2018,” Ferhangil said. “He had so many great ideas and made the set up, clean up, and actual event so fun; I could really tell that he wanted the students to have fun, and it showed in his enthusiasm. Even after he became a senior class representative, he continued to be very hands on with the rec committee which was great.”

Ferhangil reflected on Kim’s impact at the Academy, much of which is due to his infectious personality. “David has had a huge impact on the Exeter community,” she said. “I think his impact stems from his genuine love for Exeter and the students on campus. He is there for people in his dorm, in student council, in classes, and has been a great friend of mine for the few years I have known him. His positivity and enthusiasm are contagious, and I know he is going to continue to do great things in the future.”

Across all areas of Exeter life, D. Kim set out to become a great leader to the next generation of younger students, just like his proctors were to him. “I want to give inspiration to those underclassmen now as an upperclassman, um, to show how comfortable I am and how to lead other people. I want to instill that inspiration in them to be like, ‘Oh, when I'm an upperclassman, I want to act like David Kim,’” he said. “I want to be the nicest and most empathetic I can be to show that nobody should be discounted for. I want everybody to pursue anything they can or like anything they want and not be discouraged because they think, ‘Oh, because I'm this, I can't do that’. I don't want that saying to exist.’”