When he first entered Lenape High School as a freshman in fall 2011, David Kim had dreams of becoming the valedictorian.
This spring, that dream became a reality.
Kim graduated from Lenape High School last week as the class of 2015’s valedictorian, a validation of his four years of hard work in the classroom.
Kim said he wasn’t expecting to be named the valedictorian right away. Scheduling difficulties early in his high school career presented a challenge to increasing his GPA. Despite this, Kim forged onward and did what he could to ace his many honors and advanced placement classes.
“I tried my best and did what I was going to do anyways,” he said. “It was a really good surprise.”
Kim’s favorite subject is science, particularly biology. He credited the classwork and his teachers as the reason he became so engrossed in the subject.
“I really liked biology,” he said. “I really had a lot of fun with honors biology and AP biology. I also had a lot of fun in AP lit this year and I really like AP physics, too.”
Kim is far from finished with biology. He will be pursuing a major in chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University this fall.
For Kim, going to Princeton may have been the easiest choice he’s made in a long time. Kim has had dreams of going to Princeton since he was young.
“My sister would got to piano lessons at Westminster Choir College,” he said. “So we would always pass the university on the way to Princeton. It wasn’t even a question for me as to whether I would go to.”
Kim applied for early action at Princeton, and once he was accepted, he didn’t apply to any other schools. He feels Princeton’s chemical and biological engineering will present him with a plethora of career opportunities.
“That major is equivalent to a pre-med track and also opens a lot of doors to research or you could get an MBA after that,” Kim said.
Kim did more than just study and ace classes during his time in high school. He also participated in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, making regular trips to Center City to perform. He also spent a lot of time volunteering with the Bucks County Presbyterian Church.
While Kim was excited to graduate and move on to college, he said he will miss the people he’s made bonds with the past four years. His favorite memory from high school was the senior trip to Walt Disney World this past spring.
“Being able to go to Disney for a week and really have that untapped freedom with my peers, it was great fun and I made really strong bonds,” Kim said.
Kim intends to keep in touch with the friends he’s made during his time in Lenape. He said the school community is what makes Lenape unlike any other high school.
“What I’ll miss the most is the teachers, the administration and a lot of the friends I made here,” he said. “The past few years, I made a lot of bonds with a lot of people that will last a lifetime.”
