Friends’ Central junior Abigail Greenberg is an outstanding student and a highly active member of the school community, holding multiple leadership roles and engaged with a wide range of extracurricular activities.
She is a violist with the Delaware Youth Orchestra, a volunteer with the Tiger Woods Foundation, and has worked as a lifeguard over the summer. A talented writer, Abigail recently won a gold medal for creative writing in the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership (PAEP) Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
“Abi is a force to be reckoned with, in the classroom and beyond,” said Abigail’s English teacher Kyra Spence.
“She’s a driven and conscientious student, a gifted and mature writer, and keen and passionate reader. Her creativity and excitement is underpinned by serious discipline. I can always count on Abi to be ready to grapple with complex and difficult questions about literature and life, never shying away from a challenge.”
Do you have a favorite Friends’ Central class or subject (and it can be more than one!), and what is it that interests you the most about it?
I’ve loved all of the English and writing classes that I’ve taken at FCS. I really like analyzing and discussing literature, and I’ve found some of my favorite books, like The Interpreter of Maladies (by Jhumpa Lahiri), through our English curriculum. I’ve also been really fortunate to have had amazing English teachers who have supported and engaged me throughout all of high school.
Part of the reason why I love English so much is because the teachers at FCS have pushed me to be my best, whether that be discussing books outside of class, debating why a piece of writing is so good, or helping me find new interpretations of what I’m reading.
At Friends’ Central, you have many leadership roles and extracurricular activities. You’re a Peer Mentor, a co-leader of Jewish Student Union (JSU), and a junior grade representative in student council; you also co-lead the school’s Philly Math League Club, and you’re an FCS Writing Lab tutor. From among that long list, is there one (or several) activities that you’d like to share a bit more about? What makes that activity particularly meaningful to you?
While it’s hard to pinpoint a specific activity, I can think of several moments from the last year that made helping with these activities feel particularly valuable:
In JSU, I got to help organize the club’s first interfaith dialogue this year, where students from a variety of religious groups at the school got together to learn about one another while also discussing some similarities that we found between our religions. We had such an amazing conversation, and I was able to learn more about my own relationship to my religion while also making new discoveries about Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.
In Writing Lab, I have helped edit many essays and English papers. I have seen so many students come in and think that their writing is “bad,” when in reality, they’ve created a great analytical essay that just needs a little bit of tweaking. I love when people come out of Writing Lab feeling more confident in their essays, and that I get to help them get there.
Congratulations on your recent PAEP Scholastic Writing Award! Can you tell us a bit about the award – what was the title and theme/subject of the piece you submitted? What inspired you to write it? How did it feel to win?
In the fall, I was in Ms. Harnett’s Essay and Memoir Writer’s Workshop. Each week, she’d give us prompts to write about in our journals. That week, the prompt was to write about something familiar in an unfamiliar way. I decided to write about cooking in a lab-adjacent setting, with the subcontext that humans were being cooked (a bit gory I know!). In the last few lines, I reveal that pancakes and bacon were the things being cooked all along.
Ms. Harnett is one of the most accomplished writers that I’ve ever met, so when she encouraged me of its merit, I decided to submit it to Scholastic. I didn’t have high hopes, because Scholastic is known to be really competitive. I was at a swim meet when I got the email that I won a gold key, and I immediately called my mother squealing (much to the annoyance of my coach).
Along with being a writer, you’re also a violist in the Delaware County Youth Orchestra. How long have you played the viola? Can you tell us a bit about your experience as a musician – is there a highlight you’d like to share?
I’ve played the viola since fourth grade! I joined DCYO at the beginning of sophomore year, and I’ve absolutely loved it. Last year, our orchestra played Rhapsody in Blue. At first, I actually wasn’t a fan of the piece. However, once I heard our conductor, Mr. Hauze, play the piano solos for the first time, I changed my mind. Mr. Hauze is an incredible pianist, and we were so lucky to have him play the piano part. On top of that, the viola gets to play the melody in Rhapsody in Blue, which is not always the case.
How long have you been a lifeguard? Where have you worked, and do you have a memorable moment from your lifeguarding experience to share?
I started lifeguarding last summer at the Jersey Shore. I worked for Barnegat Light Beach Patrol, and I’m hoping to work there again this summer! Last summer, I got to save an eight-year-old boy who got stuck in a rip current. While that was memorable, the best part was that the next day, the boy’s younger sister came up to the stand with a handmade, colorful card. She wrote “thank you lifeguard” in huge red letters, and I still have the note pinned up on my wall.
Do you have a favorite book (or author), and what is it that appeals to you about the book/their work?
I love Fredrik Backman. He has so many clever, witty sentences that feel sincere and vulnerable. He also is very good at blending humor with emotion.
How do you balance your academic work with all your many and varied activities and interests? Do you have any tips on time management for other students?
Weekends are so important for me! On Saturday mornings, I always go sit in a cafe, order myself a little treat, and get all of my work done. The hardest part of schoolwork is just sitting down to do it. That’s why I like to balance it out with a coffee or a pastry. It’s also important for me to make the time on weekends to keep doing the things I love: reading, watching movies, and eating lots of ice cream!
(To be selected as Main Line Student of the Week, a student must first be nominated by his or her school.)