SGA Vice President senior David Kim was born in Austin, Texas but moved to South Korea at 10 months old and lived there until he came to Colgate. It was clear that Kim was interested in the sciences at a young age, as he dreamed of growing up to be a doctor. 

Kim is a Neuroscience and Educational Studies concentrator. On campus, Kim is a member of Link Staff, the Vice President of SGA, an Illustrator for the Office of Admission and a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. 

“I’ve been mostly involved on the logistic side of large-scale event programming that focuses on inclusion and creating conversations about campus and the national climate such as the Dear Class of 2019 Dinners, A Tale of Two Sit-Ins and the Night Market,” Kim said. 

It is through his involvement on campus that Kim has met some of his closest friends.

“Through constantly engaging with new peers through the work I do on campus, I’ve formed meaningful connections with people from various communities across our campus,” Kim said.

Over the summers, Kim has done biomedical research internships at labs in Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is also going to be published with his lab mentors in a journal magazine for developing a new treatment protocol for sepsis.

Kim is nostalgic about moving on from Colgate, and there are many aspects of campus life that he will miss.

“I will miss how closely connected our Colgate community is and how I could engage intellectually, socially and emotionally during those late-night conversations with my peers,” Kim said.

After Colgate, Kim looks forward to working in the nonprofit industry, with a focus on providing equal access to a better quality of education and healthcare to those who are underprivileged and marginalized in our society.

Kim advises first-years to not be so hard on themselves when first coming to Colgate and trying to navigate college life for the first time.

“The first-year me completely thinks differently from the senior me, so don’t get too caught up on planning to be perfect. Be you, because you have so much agency in changing our campus into a better place and everyone at Colgate will learn how to appreciate and love you for who you are,” Kim said.