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Abbi Davis finds ways to help community
By Sarah A. Wise
NL Staff Writer
10 April 2008 — At the age of 18, Abbi Davis of Fremont has a commitment to service that exceeds many twice her age.
And though she acknowledges that all of her activities look good on a resume, Abbi said her central motivation to stay so busy is a bit more personal.
“A majority of what I do is service oriented,” she said. “I feel like I’m giving back as much as I’ve been given in life. It’s good to get to give back.”
The Aycock senior is actively involved in a myriad of activities inside and outside of school. Just this year, Abbi serves as president of Aycock’s chapters of HOSA, Key Club, and Aycock Christian Athletes. She is also one of the editors of the yearbook and class secretary.
Of her activities at Aycock, Abbi said that working with the yearbook is by far her favorite. She said she really enjoys being part of the entire process of starting from scratch at the beginning of each year to create something she and her classmates will treasure forever.
“With some of the other things, you don’t always get to see the positive outcome,” she said. “You hope for it, but you don’t always get to see it. With yearbook, you always end up getting something you love.”
Outside of school, she is involved with a myriad of activities through her youth group at Fremont United Methodist Church, where she serves as president, as well as teaching dance classes and performing with the Goldsboro Ballet Company.
In addition to local activities with her church, Abbi also participates in church activities on a regional and state level. She has been actively involved with youth program Heart of Carolina Chrysalis since January of 2005. She has served as a youth leader as well as a support person for the weekend-long program several times.
She also attends the Annual Conference of United Methodist Youth every summer. The conference is a gathering of youth from across the state to discuss relevant political issues. The group debates and passes resolutions on behalf of the youth of the state.
The Fremont native is also committed to her community. She represented the town as Miss Daffodil last year, and was also a Little Miss Daffodil in 2000.
On top of her list of activities, Abbi is also an honors student, and expects to graduate at the top of her class. She served as a graduation marshal last year, and participates in honors and advanced placement courses. She has been accepted to North Carolina State University in the fall, and has been invited to the scholars’ program there.
“She’s a driven girl,” said her mother Freda.
But amidst all that drive and dedication, Abbi said one activity is truly cathartic for her – dance.
“I tell people that it’s the way I breathe,” she said. “If I have a bad day, I can go into the studio and drop everything. When I dance, it all goes away. On stage, I can be whoever I want to be, to whatever extent.”
Abbi has been taking ballet lessons for 13 years, and has been participating in productions with the Goldsboro Ballet Company for 11 years. She has been in 11 of the company’s annual winter production of the Nutcracker, and has participated in 10 spring performances. Recently, she played the lead role in “Sleeping Beauty” for the company’s spring performance.
Dance is such a passion for Abbi that she loves to share it with others. For the last four years, she has been an assistant instructor teaching ballet and tap to younger students. Her pupils range in age from two to ten years old, and she said that the range of ages makes her classes more enjoyable.
“When they start, they come in and they’re hardly able to stand still to being able to understand what I’m telling them and being able to do it well,” she said. “It’s wonderful.”
Teaching is also therapy in a way, she said, because it allows her to pass on what she loves to others.
“I love sharing my passion with others, and watching them grow from one stage to the next,” she said.
Abbi is the daughter of Freda and Kim Davis of Fremont, and she has an older sister Farah who was also an active student and community member.
As she prepares looks ahead to the future, Abbi said she doesn’t know yet what she wants to pursue as her career. She said she’ll be enrolled in the general college at NCSU while she explores the many opportunities for her future.
And with her level of dedication, it seems pretty certain that Abbi will find a myriad of new activities to dedicate herself to as she moves on to college.
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