Alumni Sarah Kim Continues to Inspire

Sarah Kim in her freshman dorm at Barnard

image courtesy of http://www.educationupdate.com/

Sarah Kim in her freshman dorm at Barnard

Leah Emmerich, Editor-in-Chief

FTHS Alumni Sarah Kim started Freehold Township as a freshman seven years ago, and now she attends Barnard, a private liberal arts college associated with Colombia University. She displays an immense amount of intelligence and appreciation for life itself.  Even though she has cerebral palsy and is unable to communicate in the way that most take for granted, she has achieved more than could be imagined by a student her age.  While speaking is difficult for Sarah, that does not get in the way of her thoughts being heard.

A lot has changed since Sarah attended FTHS, but a lot has stayed the same. She recalls a quote from a novel she read freshman year, A Separate Peace, which says, “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,” which translates in English to “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” This phrase refers to the belief that big changes may occur, but the foundation and the status quo remain the same, which Sarah says she feels 100%. Besides the teachers, she says she does not recognize anybody. When she was in high school, she says she could never see beyond it. Being in college has given her the opportunity to experience what the real word is like. Over the summer, Sarah got a job and started living in her own apartment, experiencing more freedom then she’s ever had before.

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While in high school, Sarah says that she was handed everything and that in no way prepared her for life afterwards. When she first got to college, she had to seek out help in order to have all her needs met.

Seeking out help wasn’t the only thing Sarah did to ensure her success in college; she got herself involved in any club or activity that peeked her interest. Currently, she is a representative on the Board of Trustees of Colombia University (SGA), financial vice president of her sorority (Gamma Phi Beta), and an admissions representative at Colombia University; additionally, she’s on the University Senate, she has an internship in New York City as a district 5 council member, and she is on the board for a company that teaches women how to code. (She says that she’s definitely involved in more, she just couldn’t remember what they were at the moment.) Being around all these people that shared her same interest led her to be more outgoing than she ever was before. Being this busy and doing things that interest her keeps Sarah positive, and she is able to take it all in and remind herself that she is doing everything in order to have a better future.

The most important thing Sarah wants others to take away from meeting her is that she is just like everybody else. She has overcome so much in her life, and she hopes she can inspire people to do the same. She knows the importance of being the best version of herself, which is an idea she wants as many people to adapt to as possible.

She states, “No matter how hard life may seem, there is nothing you can’t overcome.”