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No. 20 Vol. 7
My Life Publications • 973-809-4784
July 2024
800-939-JUNK
Livingston’s Hannah Kim Makes an Impact in Written Word and Action
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By Steve Sears hen speaking with 2023 Livingston High School graduate, Hannah Kim, you feel that, although her interests and goals may be different than yours, she still makes you feel your life is pretty good. All this is reflected in her resume, which is a testament to her talent and drive, and her cordial persona, where she shows interest in others. Consider Kim, who attends the University of Pennsylvania, and her fondness for mentoring. In the summer of 2023, she via virtual weekly meetings encouraged and mentored five young students in Malaysia on how to create a product and manage sales and marketing, the overall goal to foster in them entrepreneurial skills. Yes, the above points to Kim’s interest in economics and problem solving, but it goes much deeper. Kim, 19, said, “I wanted to teach them that it’s possible that, no matter the age, and that even if it means that you’re not some multibillion dollar company, just even having some creative movement within your own local community, as I did in high school myself, is something that creates a lasting impact.” “Lasting impact” also aptly describes Kim’s creative writing endeavors. Recalling her time in fourth grade, she said, “I was a huge fan of historical fiction, and I loved reading it. What got me into it was I wrote this one piece about World War II – and do not ask me how I knew about that in the fourth grade. I did not know much about that historical event itself; I kind of imagined what it would be like to live in
that world.” Kim continued that love for fiction throughout elementary and middle schools, but when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, her focus turned to public policy – and other writing genres. She explained. “After hearing on the news about the painful crimes that were occurring to a lot of individuals in our country, I didn’t have an emotional outlet for that, but I was really inspired by the poet Julien Carr - she began posting a lot - and Amanda Gorman was also pretty popular around this time, and I kind of fell in love with her performance at the White House. Those combined were a big push towards poetry.” As was the death of her grandfather, which whom she had a wonderful relationship. Kim said, “Ever since he passed away, a lot of my writing ties back to him.” In fact, one of her latest poems about her grandfather was recently published. “That’s one way I am still keeping my ties with writing, and I do hope to one day release this one collection. My grandfather, he was an orphan of the Korean War, and I found the story so impeccable, that I want to pay homage to him in a way by publishing a good poetry collection. That is a long-term goal.” Kim, who has won awards for her poetry, in 2021 was also awarded a Gold Key from Scholastic Arts & Writing for her essay and memoir titled “Haraboji’s Letters”, which details her grandfather’s Korean War experiences. She served as the editor-in chief of the LHS literary magazine Inner Voices, and was an editor for The Lance, the school newspaper.
Wharton Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Club.
Kim, who was raised by her dad and mom, Daewee Kim and Seonyoung Choi, and who has a younger brother, Paul, a Livingston High School senior, attributes most of her accomplishments and opportunities to her faith. “I am a firm believer,” Kim said, “that I would not be here where I am today if it were not for God’s plan and His strength.”