About
River An



Peddie School 27’


As a singer, actress, writer, and visual artist, I pursue presence, precision, and emotional truth. I study structure—a song, scene, image, or sentence—and then let instinct shape the rest. I listen for what’s unsaid and try to connect quietly and with care.
Musical Theatre
Vocal Performance  
- Performer

SEPTEMBER 2023 – PRESENT

  • Lead roles: Fiona (*Shrek*), Gloria Thorpe (*Damn Yankees*); selected as lead vocalist for school events and Blair Day band.

  • Chapel/memorial soloist; Peddie Singers (10th), Treblemakers (9th); repertoire across jazz and musical theatre.

  • Actor’s Studio & private voice: control, nuance, emotional expression; performance as practice in empathy and presence.

  • Learned to prioritize connection and joy on stage; will continue voice study and pursue musical theatre in college.

Visual Storytelling 
Amphion 
Literary Art Magazine 
- Artist and Editor

SEPTEMBER 2022 – PRESENT

  • Independent study in anatomy & color; Scholastic submissions recognized (Silver Key).

  • Amphion 2024 cover artist → layout editor; curate work and mentor contributors.

  • Process: rigorous observation, iteration, and design—structure gives expression room to expand.

  • Plan to lead Amphion and apply visual–narrative strategies to independent work and critique in college.

Peddie Student DEI 
Leadership Council 
- SDEI Leader

MAY 2025 – MAY 2027

  • Liaison between DEI office and students; collaborate with affinity groups; lead community workshops.

  • Focus: moving from awareness to respectful dialogue; amplifying underheard voices.

  • Core skill: listening and facilitating to reach compassionate solutions; carry this work into college leadership and academics.


Peddie Arts Citizenship Committee
– Theater Representative

 2024 – Present

  • Represent theatre in arts programming; link performance with civic dialogue around identity, inclusion, and responsibility.

Peddie Creative Writing 
Signature Program 
- Participant

SEPTEMBER 2025 – MAY 2027

  • Two-year seminar: deep reading across literary history, research-informed original writing.

  • Junior-summer in-person program (2026); final portfolio and public capstone reading.

  • Goal: strengthen language for eloquence and efficacy across creative and academic work.

Law & Psychology Research on Juvenile Vulnerability 
– Researcher

JULY 2025 – NOVEMBER 2025


  • Completed 20-page paper: How are linguistically underdeveloped or impaired juveniles disproportionately at risk for mistreatment in the juvenile justice system?
  • Integrates psychology & law: language vulnerabilities, trauma, development × interrogation tactics and courtroom dynamics.
  • Manuscript complete; currently preparing submission to NHSJS and AJSR.
Columbia University High School Law Institute (HSLI) 
– Student Scholar

Fall 2025 – Spring 2026

  • Accepted and will join in Fall 2025; year-long courses in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Moot Court, Saturday seminar.

  • Weekly 3-hour sessions: lectures, case readings, discussions, briefs/oral arguments—complements my juvenile-justice research.

Princeton CIEL Senior Center
Intergenerational Musical Volunteer

MARCH 2025 – PRESENT

  • Bi-monthly performances and visits; music as a bridge for memory and conversation.

  • Shifted from performing to listening; moments of healing informed my archival project of elders’ stories.

Independent Project
- Founder/Artist/Interviewer

JUNE 2025 – PRESENT

  • Interview, illustration, writing, and voice recordings to archive elders’ memories and perspectives.

  • Purpose: give voice to underheard stories; long-term aim aligned with advocacy for representation.

Peddie Varsity 
Girls Golf - Athlete

SEPTEMBER 2023 – PRESENT

  • Varsity team member; MAPL team champion (2025).

  • Built resilience, patience, and team mindset; value humor and cohesion alongside technical skill.

Languages

  • Korean (mother tongue, native fluency)

  • English (second language, native fluency)








Art Work

Painting | Mixed Media | Digital
 



As An Artist

I work across mediums—drawing, painting, digital composition—but what stays constant is my interest in memory, emotion, and the spaces in between. I’m drawn to textures, rhythms, and quiet tension. My creative process often begins with discomfort, but it’s through that uncertainty that form begins to emerge.

Participated in the 2025 Ocean Awareness Contest








Untitled(Ocean2)

"Trash that looks like fish."
We’ve seen the statistics. We carry tote bags that say “Save the Ocean.”
And yet, we continue to feel distant from the crisis—like it’s happening somewhere else.

This piece is about collapsing that distance. By turning discarded plastics into fish-like hybrids, I wanted viewers to experience the discomfort of seeing the natural world distorted into something disturbingly familiar. The ocean is not a separate world; it’s a mirror of our choices. Creating this work pushed me to confront my own detachment before asking others to do the same. I used colored pencil for precision and soft pastels for atmosphere, blending control with uncertainty. The result is a world where trash and marine life blur into one—just as human behavior and ecological loss have become inseparable.





Participated in the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

For Dear Life

Children are born with their own individuality, unique strengths, and different dreams. Yet, at some point, they are swept into the expectation of excelling academically and striving toward the same standardized goals. This cycle often culminates in adulthood, where many find themselves sitting at identical cubicles, divided in corporate offices, completing menial tasks, regardless of their unique talents or individuality.

As a 10th-grade student observing this phenomenon, I am struck by the relentless pressure placed on students to pursue academic success at the expense of their individuality. Through my art, I aimed to capture not only this struggle but also the resilience against it—students cling onto success, apprehensive about the future, but they also refuse to fall. The drawing symbolizes the precarious balance between individuality and the collective pursuit of uniformity, illustrating the tension and perseverance it takes to navigate a system that prioritizes conformity over personal dreams and identity.
Amphion Literary & Art Magazine – Selected Cover Artist (2024)


© RIVER AN 2025