Senior of the Week: Hojun Choi

By David Chen and Angela Zhang

The low rumble of voices quiets as Hojun Choi stands tall in the center of the winter track team. His presence captures the other athletes’ attention. Choi begins his pre-game ritual by congratulating the team members on their hard work, instilling within the team a sense of excitement and confidence. He extends his fist to the center of the circle, initiating the team’s chant. “Go Big Red on three! One... Two... Three... Go Big Red!”

Choi, better known as Hoj, hails from Peachtree City, Georgia. In the classroom, Choi is most interested in the humanities, particularly philosophy, psychology, writing, and poetry. According to Choi, it excites him to learn valuable information from his pursuits in Exeter’s wide array of courses, such as debating the meaning of happiness in religion classes, and writing about free will in his current biology elective on human behavior, BIO999.

Reflecting on an introductory course to philosophy, Choi said, “I was so excited to be surrounded by smart people who thought deeply and were engaged with the material. The conversations were so beautiful.”

Fellow senior Emilio Abelmann recalled Choi’s philosophical inquiry both in and out of the classroom. “He’s a great conversationalist. I will forever cherish our friendly banters about free will, religion, life, death, and everything in between,” Abelmann said.

Beyond these serious conversations within academia, Choi is known for his witty humor. Abelmann added, “Hoj is always lighthearted and can put a smile on anyone's face.” Several of his other close friends and fellow seniors supported these beliefs. “When Hoj walks into a room, he just lights up their faces,” Senior Jack Puchalski said. Lower Drew Smith added, “He’s a shining light of happiness. He’s determined when it comes to his interests and still lends a shoulder to lean on whenever needed.”

Beyond the classroom, Choi dedicates his time and effort to music production, which he began pursuing in 7th grade. Growing up in a musical family, he learned to play both piano and cello, which gave rise to creating his own music.

For Choi, music production is an outlet for limitless creative expression and imagination. “I’ve been playing other people’s music my whole life, and my cello teacher would always be mad at me for playing the pieces the way I wanted to play them instead of how the composer meant for it to be played,” he recalled. “I thought to myself, if I want so desperately to branch off and be creative, why not just do that in the way I can? That’s electronic music production.”

For Choi’s senior project in spring term, he will be producing an album in collaboration with his good friend and rapper, Osiris Russell-Delano.“Hoj and I became best friends and basically brothers by making music together—back in lower and upper year, we’d sit in his room in Ewald for hours on end,” Russell-Delano shared. “Those have been my favorite moments with Hoj, and honestly, my favorite moments at Exeter.”

In addition to music production, Choi prides himself on Mock Trial the most. “Whenever I look back on my four years at Exeter, Mock Trial will absolutely be the thing that has given me the most fulfillment and the biggest sense of accomplishment,” he said.

Choi joined Mock Trial in his lower year after a close friend encouraged him. Since then, Choi has fallen in love with the extracurricular activity and led Exeter’s Mock Trial C Team in both his upper and senior years. Both years, the team beat Exeter’s Mock Trial B Team and advanced to the State Finals, a direct reflection of his dedication to ensuring the team’s success.

However, Choi is also proud of his involvement with Mock Trial, not because of these results, but because he was able to share his passion and facilitate close relationships within the club.

“It’s so beautiful to be able to foster this community, these friendships, and these memories,” Choi said. “What’s most important to me is I’ve been able to make other people love something as much as I do, if not more. That’s the most rewarding thing.”

Members of Exeter’s Mock Trial C Team also recognize Choi’s prominent presence in the club. Prep Jenna Wang shared that Choi is like an older brother to the club. “Mock Trial would not be as fun, and the team would not be as close as it is, if it weren’t for Hoj's inviting and humorous personality,” Wang said. Co-leader of this year’s C Team, and senior Alicia Gopal, agreed. “Mock Trial thinks of ourselves as family. A lot of that is because of Hoj. He’s always joking around, trying to include everyone in the conversation to make sure that everyone has a good time.”

Even members outside of the club commented on Choi’s visible passion and dedication towards Mock Trial. Abelmann noted, “It’s inspiring to see Hojun lead his team. He loves it so much.” And more broadly beyond working with Mock Trial members, Choi is “definitely a mentor for the younger kids on campus,” according to Puchalski. As demonstrated throughout all of his Exeter experiences, Choi “derives his happiness from other people’s happiness.” Choi added, “My aim is to have as many personal and meaningful connections on campus so people remember the good times they had with me.”

Choi not only fulfilled but exceeded this goal, having positively influenced numerous lives at Exeter. Russell-Delano proudly said “Hoj has become a leader in all aspects of campus life. He’s become more focused and dedicated to every craft he puts energy into.” Senior Maggie Wainwright and member of Exeter’s Mock Trial A Team agreed. “He astounds me with his passion, motivation by service and selflessness, and humor. He brings joy and laughter everywhere.” Senior Jackson Carlberg and Choi’s former roommate noted Choi’s “gift for interacting well with others”' and the “special kind of excitement” that Choi brings to Exeter. Abelmann also admired Choi’s positive qualities, adding “Hoj is thoughtful, aware, and critical of himself. He knows when his personality needs alteration, and he doesn't shy away from making adjustments.”

When asked what advice he would offer to fellow Exonians, Choi contemplated before saying, “This is not meant to be pessimistic or received in a negative way, but nobody cares about you as much as you do.”

Upon admittance to Exeter, Choi worried a lot about fitting in. “The feeling of being judged is a terrible, terrible feeling that limits us in a lot of ways. But then I realized, everyone is so focused on becoming the best versions of themselves that they don't have time to be concerned about what other people are doing.” he said. “And that sounds selfish, but it’s also insanely comforting. You have complete autonomy over your own life.”

Living by these sentiments, Choi pushes past his limits and strives to be his best self everyday while inspiring those around him. His positive and influential legacy at Exeter lives on, and there is no doubt that he will continue to inspire beyond Exeter.