Esther Ghim has channeled her bright disposition into an array of interests during her high school years, both inside and outside of Enloe. As a swimmer, a member of MBSA and HOSA, and vice president of the National Honor Society, Esther is an immersed, well-rounded student whose wisdom and optimism have carried her to senior year!
The crux of what Esther learned in high school: “Pursue what you are interested in. If you really enjoy a class, just take it- whether you are good or not.” Esther did this in her chemistry class, taking all three levels of chemistry and creating strong bonds (no pun intended) with her teachers, Mr. Lamberth and Mr. Kinton. Mr. Kinton and Esther formed this bond on an unexpected mutual interest, frogs! Francium the Frog, the new class pet, was immediately a hit. Esther is the proud owner of the Instagram account @francium_the_frog, where the life of the eccentric frog can be followed.
Throughout our conversation, Esther placed heavy emphasis on swimming and how it has shaped her high school career. She has been on the swim team for all four years of high school. She has spent many busy afternoons and weekends at practices at the Triangle Aquatic Center and, what she insists, the pool on top of the east building! Esther has grown exceptionally close to many of her peers. The cheers from the Enloe team while members swim still ring in her head. The relationships she has formed go far beyond the pool. Esther feels their support and teamwork have allowed her to grow her skills, “I’ve met so many people who have encouraged my growth in swimming. They made me determined. There is a lot of team-based work, even if swimming is considered an individual sport.” Despite placing a humble emphasis on her team, Esther has many personal swimming achievements, including Open-Water Junior National Championships and a relay race record broken at Enloe. Esther and three other Enloe students hold the record for the fastest 400 freestyle relay.
Aside from swimming, MBSA and HOSA have been integral parts of Esther’s high school journey and have shaped what she wants to pursue after high school. She is interested in Biomedical Engineering, public policy, and healthcare careers. As a freshman, Esther wanted to find a way to be a part of the larger Enloe community during virtual school. She decided to try out HOSA and was nearing her State Level Competition event. Ms. Ledford, the MBSA coordinator and health science teacher, alerted her that the event was canceled. Out of this came the biggest blessing in disguise that she would receive. She was given the opportunity to work with former Enloe student, Nandini Kanthi, in the medical innovations event. In their first year working together, they created ROSAD, a device that would detect oncoming strokes in patients. The next year they decided to work together again, along with Anisha Roy and Sophie Kullar: “We stumbled upon the issue of reproductive health and cervical cancer for women in developing countries. We realized we needed to target this. It was a lot of trial and error. At first, we were [even] thinking of putting actual sensors in it. It came to fruition- now we have an innovation that is really in the process of making its mark on women’s health and destigmatizing menstrual health.” With Esther’s help, the Sensible team has gone on to win grants from MIT for its continued development and receive national recognition from press organizations like USA Today.
Despite a heavy academic and athletic workload, Esther has always found time for her artistic interests. She has recently been interested in songwriting as a stress reliever. She loves the creativity she can exhibit on paper. Another stress reliever? Children’s movies. Esther has loved watching “Cars” and “My Little Pony” while working on the grueling work of college applications. Esther and I connected on various interests, from strawberry matcha and Brecotea to our love of the controversial mint chocolate chip ice cream.
Although Esther is excited about her future in college, she reiterates how Enloe is somewhere she loves to be and will thoroughly miss. Esther told me that she will miss the connections she has made with teachers and friends here at Enloe. “I got to meet so many people through [Enloe’s] orchestra like Smruti Patil, Jeffrey Zhu, and Katherine Yates…also, Samantha Kaminemi and Amy Li have been constants for me throughout these four years. I am so grateful to have met them. But also the friends I have recently met, like Naina Anumandla, who I have only known for two years but I am always so happy to see her cheerful self!”
I am sure Esther will continue to create and innovate on whatever path she decides to pursue in the future. On behalf of all of us at the Eagles Eye, we commend you for your outstanding accomplishments and wish you all the best!
