Vote Abby Roth for Service and Servanthood

| Photo courtesy of The King’s College.

The opinions reflected in this OpEd are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.

I have known Abby Roth since August of 2019. She was one of three freshmen on the volleyball team who was a Thatcher and at Albee. I have spent countless hours with her at House events, in the occasional business class and, most commonly, trapped in volleyball van rides. If I have learned anything over these near four years of friendship with her, Abby Roth is kind, courageous, dedicated and would be one of the best Student Body Presidents this school has ever, and will ever, have. 

I have so many stories I could pull from that show why Abby is great for this role, but I think there are two that not only show what kind of person you would be voting for but also show her dedication to this college. And yes, they’re both from volleyball.

The volleyball team competed in the USCAA national tournament this past semester. The dates for the tournament happened to fall on the exact same dates of fall Interregnum. The entire team was in a state of conflict. Did we really think driving six hours for a two-day tournament would be worth all the make-up work for Interregnum?  In the end, we went and ended up getting absolutely crushed in both of our games. The next conflict was whether or not we should pack up all of our things, check out a day early and drive for six hours straight to get back to New York for the last day of Interregnum. Abby was the only person that argued for our return. 

In the weeks leading up to the tournament, you could tell how upset she was to be missing Interregnum; it was one of her favorite times of the year. House camaraderie, endless Starbucks, good-hearted competition, and the need to defend Thatcher supremacy. 

Well, we asked for sleep and voted not to go, but after sitting in my room for an hour and realizing how badly she wanted to get back home to do this. I convinced everyone that it would be worth it to pile back into the van for the ride home—a ride where Abby only played Taylor Swift over the aux. The next day, I slept in and participated in the absolute bare minimum required of me. Meanwhile, Abby Roth was up bright and early in the Thatcher war room to cheer on our housemates. If nothing else, Abby is dedicated to this school through and through. 

Story number two is the time I “broke” my ankle. I’m not going to explain the intricacies of volleyball in this op-ed, but the pertinent information is the fact that the position I play is prone to injury because we move a lot and everywhere. At one of our home games, which I’m sure many of you attended, Abby and I collided. Somehow our ankles got hooked; her ankle won, and mine went pop. I ended up with a level four sprain and was in a boot for about three months. 

The first couple days I was injured, I had crutches. If you’ve ever been injured while at King’s, you know the city isn’t helpful when it comes to transportation. Abby was kind enough to come all the way to my apartment in Park Slope and walk with me every single, slow step of the way down the stairs to the train and to King’s. She made sure I didn’t fall or let the train doors close on me. Abby didn’t have to take the time out of her day to come help a crippled Alex, and I very well could have Ubered, but nonetheless, she did. Abby has the biggest heart of service and servanthood. If you couldn’t tell from that story, just look at the countless things she has done for this school over her career here. 

Now I want you to forget about both of those stories because chances are you’ve probably had an interaction with Abby yourself. She is involved in everything and is the very definition of a King’s woman. And yet, despite living, breathing and bleeding King’s blue, she still acknowledges that this campus needs to make changes to succeed. I want you to vote for whoever you think will be best for this college. Don’t vote for the one with the nicest-looking Instagram or the catchiest campaign slogan, but who you think will actually represent you and your interests. I think that person is my friend, Abby Roth.

Alexandria (Alex) Kemsley is a senior Humanities student at The King’s College in New York City. She has written numerous articles for the Empire State Tribune.