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Former Bronx Science star Michelle Kim is on ‘mission’

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Michelle Kim has been pretty busy since she graduated from Bronx Science this past spring. 

First there was a two-week trip to Central America before another one-week trek to Europe. Two trips for two entirely different reasons.

In Panama, the former point guard for the Wolverines’ division-winning girls basketball team visited different villages and met with the indigenous people there, “People,” Kim said, “who had never heard the gospel.”

It was all about evangelism. 

“We spent time with the kids and did arts and crafts and played games,” she said. “And then we had a service for the adults where we prayed for them and shared testimonies.” 

Needing a respite from her mission work, Kim then jetted across the pond to visit some family and get in some quality Frisbee time.

“My uncle lives in Germany and I’ve always been meaning to go visit him, and I just haven’t because of school,” Kim said. “So now that I wasn’t stressed about college or anything, I was finally able to go visit. I was in Berlin for a little over a week.”

The best part of being in that historical city?

“Honestly, playing frisbee in the park was probably the most fun I had over there,” Kim said, laughing.

Service and helping others is something Kim takes very seriously. Last week she even found time in her hectic schedule to do some additional volunteer work.

“I went to a soup kitchen and we were serving the homeless,” Kim said. “I used to do it a lot more when I was younger, before high school. But during high school you barely have any time to do anything, especially with basketball. But my mom told me there was a homeless outreach, and I said, ‘OK, I’ll go to that.’ Now I leave for school in a week and it just seems like the summer flew by.”

Kim’s college home will be Binghamton University.

“I really liked the campus and I’m going in as a history major,” Kim said. “I’m not sure if it’s going to be European history or Middle Ages history or whatever, I’m just not sure yet. I just know I want to major in history.”

Being as frenetic as she has been this summer, Kim said it feels like her Bronx Science days were a long time ago.

“I thought I would miss school a lot, but honestly, I don’t miss it all that much,” Kim said. “But the one thing I do really miss is basketball.”

Kim was an invaluable player for the Wolverines this past season as they won the Bronx A South Division for the first time in several years.

“This might sound like a cliche, but basketball was my everything in high school,” Kim said. “I studied a lot, and of course school is very important. But basketball was just my way out. It totally changed my school experience. 

“When I first got to Bronx Science I told my parents that I wanted to transfer because I didn’t like the school and it was really hard to make friends and the workload was tough. But then I started with basketball, and I went to school and I just waited until 3 o’clock for basketball practice to start every day.”

It also was through basketball that Kim connected with her closest friend, former teammate Georgia McKay.

“Me and Georgia have a very special friendship,” Kim said. “Now that I think about it, we never ever had a class together. But if there was one person, if you asked me who would I go to war with, it would be Georgia.”

Kim looks forward to new beginnings at Binghamton, including one in which she will turn from basketball player to coach.

“At first I was kind of dreading it, but after orientation and just seeing the school, now I’m really excited,” Kim said. “I was also looking for other volunteer opportunities because I’m the type of person who stays more organized when I have more things to do. So I found that one of the churches near the school was looking for a volunteer to coach youth basketball, so I reached out to them and they got back to me so that’s honestly what I’m looking most forward to. 

“But I’m also excited to get away from home and start a new chapter in my life.” 

Michelle Kim, Bronx Science, basketball, Sean Brennan

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