The Outstanding Spring Graduate at Murray State University for 2012 was announced at the Senior Breakfast this week. Sooyeon Kim, a student from Seoul, South Korea, was chosen for the honor. She is the daughter of Tae-Jo Kim and Joung-Ae Ea.

Kim will receive a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine/biology in May. She minored in German and chemistry. A Dean’s List student, Kim has a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She plans to attend medical school after graduation.

An Honors Program student at Murray State, Kim is a member of several honors organizations including Alpha Lambda Delta, of which she was president, Alpha Mu Gamma national foreign language honor society, White College Honor Society and the National Residence Hall Honorary, which recognizes scholars who specifically work closely with residential colleges.

As a student, Kim has been an active participant in programs that are closely related to her field of study. Currently, she shadows physicians in the Purchase Area Health Education Center Shadowing Program and participates in a chemistry research project that involves synthesizing polymers utilizing ionic liquids.

Earlier, she was a member of a biology research team that studied the molecular mechanisms that control the development of germ cells in Drosophila (commonly referred to as fruit flies). She also worked on a scientific project analyzing the amount of PCPs in nature. PCPs are chemical substances that are commonly used in wood preservatives and are considered to be carcinogenic.

Kim was selected for an internship in Lourdes Hospital’s Future Physician Program and participated in the Trover Rural Scholar Program in Madisonville, Ky., both during the summer of 2010.

She is a member of the Pre-Health Professional Club at Murray State.

Her many university activities also include membership on the MSU Student Advisory Board that meets monthly to discuss issues affecting student life and she is a member of the American Medical Student Association. Kim has served on the Student Government Association and the Hart College Council, and was a floor representative and Student Government Association representative on the White College Council. She was also a resident advisor in Hart College for three years, and was a senator on the Freshman Council.

Last fall, Kim played the violin with the MSU Symphony Orchestra and has regularly attended events at the Baptist Campus Ministry.

She is an active member of Memorial Baptist Church in Murray and has worked in the local community as a part of Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Santa Project. Kim’s community service also includes volunteering at the Hospice Care Center, helping children as a leader of Club 12 and as an after-school tutor, and mentoring kids through Inter-city Outreach in Paducah, Ky.

Kim will give the valediction at the May 2012 Commencement ceremony at Murray State University. The event begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, and will be held in the CFSB Center.