This week, The Argus sat down with Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) President Jonghwa Kim ’25, a familiar face in student body politics. Kim told us about the future of the WSA, the ongoing struggle to make campus more friendly to students with disabilities, and his senior-year vibe.
The Argus: Why do you think you were nominated to be a WesCeleb?
Jonghwa Kim: I honestly have no clue. There’s the WSA presidency thing, but I know a lot of people who do a lot more crazy stuff on campus than I do. So it’s like, yeah, you all should nominate more people, cooler people.
A: Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to Wesleyan?
JK: Sure, I grew up going back and forth between Korea and the U.S. a lot. My home country [is] South Korea. I was really interested in U.S. education and U.S. government, specifically. Wesleyan, being notorious for a liberal arts education that’s more out there, was attractive to me. To be honest, I’m also a Freeman Scholar, so there’s definitely a money component too. But it was mostly the visibility of Wesleyan and the activist reputation that drew me here, and I think I made the right choice.
A: How do you think you’ve changed since you started here?
JK: I think I’ve grown a lot, both personally and academically. I’ve learned a lot more about various niche topics, things that I never would have had exposure to. Especially growing up in East Asia, [there are] entire subject areas that I never would have had exposure to. But also on a personal level, I feel like I’ve, like, developed more of a vibe, you know? I came to Wesleyan kind of being a cookie-cutter student, and I hope I’m not a cookie-cutter student now.
A: And if you had to describe the vibe?
JK: I’m definitely curious, definitely pursuing whatever makes me happy in the moment. That’s actually why I joined the WSA to begin with—it seemed fun, and so [I think I’m] fun-chasing, but also very intellectually and academically curious.
A: Is there anything else that brought you to the WSA? And what made you stick with it?
JK: I joined the Student Budget Committee (SBC) my sophomore year, and I did it partially because I really didn’t have much to do, and I thought it’d be a fun activity. But what really got me to stay was the realization that the WSA is so much more than just an activity. You genuinely can pursue things that have results. When I joined the WSA there were bird scooters littered all around campus and walkways, [blocking] accessible ramps.
A: Yes, I remember it. Vividly.
JK: Yeah, it was an accessibility nightmare. So one of the things I did was be very vocal about it. I annoyed my fellow WSA senators enough that eventually there was an email written to Dean [for Academic Advancement Laura] Patey from Accessibility Services, and the bird scooters were gone.
A: So you single-handedly killed the birds?
JK: Yes. If you hated the bird scooters, you’re welcome. If you liked them, I’m sorry.
A: That’s awesome. Looking forward, what kinds of changes can we expect from the WSA under your leadership?
JK: I think one thing I’m really excited for this year is rebuilding or reconstituting relationships with various student groups, but also faculty groups and [administration]. One of the things that I’ve noticed about my time on the WSA is that sometimes it’s very isolating to work in this weird position, having to go back and forth between us and admin. The past year, particularly with the Committee on Investor Responsibility (CIR) and being a student representative to the board of trustees, has made me realize that there are a lot of other students on campus doing similar things, and I think the WSA can serve as a hub for a lot of student activism. [It can] be that connection between student groups and admin, because a lot of student groups are very passionate, and they have a lot of things to do, a lot of things they care about. I’m thinking of the CIR, but there’s also a group of students who really care about the sustainability strategic plan—things like that.
A: What do you think are the most common misconceptions about disability and accessibility on campus?
JK: I can definitely speak to this a little. One of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that there’s this association between accessibility issues as things you can see—the physical element of stairs, ramps, that stuff is very important. And I have also advocated for a lot of that, particularly with the creation of the Student Accessibility Committee on the WSA. But I think a lot of accessibility challenges are also invisible, and those are harder to describe. Getting into certain classes or certain spaces is more difficult, and I think those invisible elements are often left out of discourse. They’re not really considered when admin or faculty or students or whoever is creating a program or designing a space. So, intellectual accessibility, accessing materials, accessing the opportunity to do certain classes. I know, for instance, something I was always scared to do was theater or dance classes. There are some unavoidable barriers there, but also, it’d be cool if Wesleyan as an institution could focus more on those kinds of intangible or invisible things.
A: What are some of your longer term goals, personally or professionally?
JK: Well, if this interview were in May, I might have a longer answer for this. For right now, I’m looking for a job. I frankly have no clue where I’m going to end up, but I really hope that whatever work I end up doing can kind of be an extension of my time on the WSA. So doing something behind the scenes but that also has some kind of meaningful impact on people’s lives. That would be kind of my hope for, like, professionally, personally, whatever.
A: Do you want to stay in the United States? Or go back to traveling back and forth?
JK: Yeah, I would like to stay in the U.S. That is very much dependent on Customs and Border Protection.
A: Is there a moment or accomplishment from your time here that you feel particularly proud of?
JK: Coming into Wesleyan, I was pretty dead set on being a government major.
A: Careful, you’re talking to one.
JK: No, this isn’t anything bad about the government major. Maybe. But one of the first things I did was take a gov class, an econ[omics] class, a lot of the social sciences. One of my proudest moments was deciding that I was not going to be a gov major and switching to econ. Nothing against the gov major, I think it’s great, but I always thought of econ as something that was like, unachievable, right? Both for the accessibility component, but also because I was so not a math person. And so, finding that I really liked econ and being bold enough to make that switch from something I’d been planning to do ever since I was in elementary school or whatever, that was a moment of [realizing that] I have the power to grow intellectually and change where I’m going, explore and not be afraid of trying things just because I enjoy them. I think that’s a big theme.
A: Wrapping up, is there anything else you want to share with The Argus or campus at large? To cement your legacy?
JK: Okay, I’ve never really thought about what my legacy is—if I get forgotten like a year from now, I don’t really care. I guess my one thing is just that it’s really difficult sometimes to take a step back from things. Wesleyan students, you know, we’re all overachievers. We all do so much. I read a piece by [Executive Editor] Sam Hilton [’25] that was like, “Oh, why do we all need to hyper-achieve and do 90 different things?” But yeah, my one thing is just, let’s all remember to take a step back and focus on enjoying some of the things that really make us happy. That’s what led me to join the WSA in the first place, and that’s what’s gotten me to this point. I think it’s just cool and beautiful to be able to enjoy the small things that make us happy around campus.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sophie Jager can be reached at sjager@wesleyan.edu.
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