“Do you need any help?”
A common question asked by Abigail Choi ’24 just so happens to summarize her exceeding pursuit of contributing to her community. Ever since Abigail was young, service was always a core part of her identity. Her years of experience as a student, a former Girl Scout, an older sister, and a friend share a consistent desire: to always help those around her.
Perhaps it was destiny when Choi joined Key Club at Bronx Science. Her passion for service has encouraged her to soar above the horizons, and Choi is now an integral part of Key Club as an International Trustee.
Choi has also been an active part of the Bronx Science community and has immersed herself in various notable accolades. From participating in debate to directing the Drama Department, she has made it very clear that her dedication knows no bounds.
Key Club
Many might know Key Club as the largest club at Bronx Science. Every year, it is one of the most frequently attended clubs and hosts some of the most exciting events and opportunities for students to contribute to their community. However, some may not know that Key Club extends beyond the school. In fact, Key Club is an international organization with clubs from almost every continent, and is now the largest high school service organization globally with 220,000 students. The organization stems from the idea of having “key” students serving their local communities, such as fundraisers, letter writing, or mainstream events.
Choi’s relationship with Key Club began during the depths of the Coronavirus pandemic. Despite her first year at Bronx Science starting off virtually, she did not let that stop her from pursuing her love of service.
“Key Club opened up opportunities to give back to my community even during the pandemic,” she said. “Every day, I spent hours immersed in service projects, such as becoming a pen-pal to those in nursing homes when they could not be visited, sending artwork and messages to soldiers overseas, creating kits of supplies and materials for educators, or participating in projects pivotal to delivering humanitarian aid.”
Key Club is organized by different sections. There are 33 total districts, which are usually defined regionally or by a state or nation. Each district is led by one governor, who is elected by delegates during an annual convention. Every district is divided into separate divisions who also hold student governors. Choi began her leadership experience during her ninth grade year and was appointed by several committees on the divisional level.
She continued serving in her regional committees, but was also appointed as a member of the Public Relations Committee on the state level by her sophomore year. At the same time, she had risen ranks to the chair position of committees in her division. Eventually she was elected by the presidents and vice presidents of Key Club in Manhattan and the Bronx to the position of Lieutenant Governor for the division.
“My focus in committees and as Lieutenant Governor was to build a strong and resilient community during and after the unprecedented circumstances posed by the pandemic,” said Choi.
With this new determination as Lieutenant Governor, she began moving forward from the regional level into the far borders of the state. She began to encourage adaptability and innovation in clubs all across New York State.
“Being elected as a New York District Lieutenant Governor, I really thought: How can we bring best practices together, leveraging knowledge and resources to uplift schools without the same momentum?” Choi said. “Thus, another one of the big initiatives that I had last year was to target the inequities in clubs throughout New York, bringing together our experiences and passion for servant leadership.”
Choi established a committee with clubs within Manhattan and the Bronx, tackling issues with hands-on experience and creative events. Through this committee, Choi was able to successfully fix the disparity across the city where club leaders were struggling to raise engagement. She organized over 400 engaging service events, chartered seven brand new chapters, and managed to double fundraising and service activity to the highest it has been in years.
“The committee has played a huge role in helping clubs across New York State reach a level of resilience beyond pre-COVID-19 levels,” said Choi.
Photo credit: Provided by Abigail Choi ’24
During the Leadership Training Conference at the end of Choi’s junior year, all presidents, Lieutenant Governors, and delegates in New York State endorsed her to run for International Trustee, the highest level of leadership for student leaders on the international level. As such, during the summer, Choi attended the International Convention, which is the largest Key Club event in the year. She visited Anaheim, California for the event and had the opportunity to work with student leaders from all over the world through different conventional workshops. But most notably, Choi was elected to the International Board as an International Trustee, a tremendous honor and accomplishment. In fact, Choi is the first member of New York in half a decade to represent the state in the organization on an international level.
As an International Trustee, Choi has a lot of responsibility. She serves on both the Global Relations committee as well as the Partners and Programs committee. The Partners and Programs committee focuses on working with international partner organizations, such as UNICEF and Khan Academy, which works on creating charters for new international districts and hosting worldwide events. She also closely serves not only the state of New York, but also Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Montana, which have a total of 20,000 members combined. For Choi, working on the Global Relations Committee means focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion for clubs outside the country.
Theater
Along with service, theater has been a huge part of Choi’s life and a huge part of her identity. When she was in middle school, she was an actor for many productions and took the role as lights director. She’s been involved with theater for seven years now, and is currently working as the Director of the Bronx Science Drama Department.
“The first role that people think of when they think of a Director is forming the creative vision,” said Choi. “That’s one of the most important parts, but definitely not the only one.”
Being a director means harboring a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, like dealing with the logistics of the show, such as budgeting and financing. You also have to know the script inside and out. The director holds numerous notes for the script covering all areas and teams for the production. By using notes for lights, cast, or props, directors utilize all areas of leadership to ensure that the production runs smoothly.
Cooperation is essential for the success of the production. Directors need to hone their ability to be the glue that holds the production together, for their actors and their crew members, while the members of the Drama Department need to work well with their director as well.
“I love being able to work closely with the actors, to form trust between actors as well as between the cast and crew,” said Choi. “I have been able to facilitate long term relationships that have lasted even beyond the stage.”
I asked Choi about some of her most memorable moments as part of the Drama Department. She expressed her love of memorizing lines from the scripts and helping her actors really bring out the most expression they can. For instance, Choi claimed that the Laramie Project — the first show after coming back to in person learning from a year of remote learning due to the Coronavirus pandemic — was one of the most difficult productions. Due to the lack of reliance on stage design as well as difficulty in getting expression from a lot of the actors, Choi had to step up and help the team as best as she could. She was encouraging and a reliable helper to those who had difficulties, and she managed to coax out the different sides of the actors, all of which had a huge impact on the outcome of the performance.
Photo credit: provided by Abigail Choi ’24
Another challenging play due to technicalities was She Kills Monsters. This production included the integration of stage combat, including sword fights and battles against unpredictable creatures. In addition to character development, rehearsals were dedicated to mastering the intricate choreography, which was difficult to gain proficiency in, at first.
In any production, collaboration is essential for the success of the production and as Director, Choi is the bridge that brings the Drama Department together.
Choi has also been a part of many musicals that occur at Bronx Science. Musicals are more focused on production elements such as singing, music, dancing, and choreography. Choi has been a choreographer for Bronx Science’s S!NG productions, which occur during the winter of each school year. Productions like these require a lot of insight about the characters inside the production, and directors need to encourage the actors to bring those characters to life. The story and the progression require voice and movement, expression and meaning.
Choi has been integral to successful musical and play productions thus far. She has been humble, strong, efficient, and caring. She truly relishes her role in being a helping hand to her community within the Drama Department, inside Bronx Science, and beyond. She has also demonstrated immense leadership expertise while never losing her true identity as a friend who will always be there to lend a hand.
Abigail Choi ’24 has also been an active part of the Bronx Science community and has immersed herself in various notable accolades. From participating in debate to directing the Drama Department, she has made it very clear that her dedication knows no bounds.