KG Buckham-White

A year before Kathryn Gabriella “KG” Buckham-White applied to Exeter, she and her family traveled from their home in Atlanta to visit campus. “We sat in on Mr. Weatherspoon’s existentialism class,” the upper recalls. “I just felt so engaged. I loved the way Harkness encouraged conversation-based learning. From that moment on I said, ‘I’m coming here!’”

Buckham-White’s parents were supportive of their daughter’s ambition but were concerned they could not afford boarding school tuition. Undeterred, Buckham-White applied. Her efforts were rewarded with a Robert Saltonstall Memorial Scholarship, one of 517 endowed financial aid funds providing critical support for qualified students. “When we opened the acceptance letter, my parents were shocked to see our grant,” she remembers. “Exeter’s financial aid program has been a blessing.”

Over the past three years, Buckham-White has explored her myriad interests at Exeter “almost boundlessly,” she says. She is an active member of the Exeter Student Service Organization, a vocalist in the a cappella group Sans Hommes and a varsity athlete. “KG makes everything look easy, but I know that’s because she is quietly working very hard behind the scenes,” says Science Instructor and dorm adviser Jeanette Saraidaridis Lovett. “She is a model Exonian: hardworking, caring and inclusive.”

Girls volleyball coach and Physical Education Instructor Bruce Shang agrees. “KG was just named a captain of the team as an upper, which is very rare,” he says. “It is because she has demonstrated great leadership on and off the court.”

In Lamont Hall, where Buckham-White is a proctor, she is known for her ever-present smile more than her spikes. “Her dormmates uniformly praise her kindness and unanimously supported her proctor application,” Lovett says. Buckham-White finds the proctor role one of the most rewarding on campus: “It’s important for me to connect with the younger students, make sure they’re doing okay, offer homework help and personal help.”