LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Abigail Meldrum is determined to make a difference. The senior at Collegiate Academy in Louisville has earned a stellar 4.1 GPA while using nearly every hour of her free time on extra-curricular activities and community service.

Her biggest focus is building communities to empower women.

She said, “I’m someone who’s very passionate about what she believes in and I try to use that sort of energy to drive the activities that I choose to do, to find ways that I can give back to my community. I’m someone who wants to lift up and support the people around me and through that create good communities that I know will work well together. I feel like when people come together in group situations, it becomes a place of strength to make progress. Whether that be social justice or just working together to create a stronger bond.”

One of the ways she does that is working with Louisville Girls Leadership. The group’s motto is “By Girls, For Girls” and it brings young women together to learn about social justice, activism, mental health and anti-racism.

Executive Director Carmellia Jackson-Hurley said Abigail has made a huge impact, explaining, “I remember when she came to us as a sophomore. She was a little bit quiet but whenever she shared gosh, just the impact of her words. You could just tell that she is so selfless, and that she was ready to do the work. But it’s really been a pleasure and an honor to see Abby grow these last three years. I’m about to cry. It’s been a really powerful immersion of empowerment. She has really stepped into her role as a human being on this planet and has put her feet in the sand and said ‘hey, I’m going to help others and I’m going to stand proudly and do that.’ And because of Abby’s leadership, she has really motivated a lot of girls in our program. She is just an inspiration, to say the very least.”

Abigail Meldrum with her sister who also attends Louisville Collegiate (Abigail Meldrum)

Abigail’s leadership extends to other areas as well. She is president of Collegiate’s Feminist Club and the school’s Gender Sexuality Alliance.

She said progress sometimes requires pushing past existing boundaries. “I think honestly sometimes we need to be radical to have that confidence to be firm in our beliefs for equality. I think that’s OK. I think as long as we’re having a good open conversation rather than being just completely closed off. I think most issues sort of create a binary in our society because we’re very divided (but) an open conversation is very helpful and I think that’s where leadership work comes into play, because if you can open yourself up to learning about other people’s perspectives, that is where room for growth comes.”

Her commitment to giving back continues with a hobby she started during the pandemic that turned into something more.

She told Spectrum News 1, “I own a small business that I opened in 2020. It’s called Abigail’s Crochet Crafts. I taught myself how to crochet online with YouTube videos because I was at home and I wanted to make that time useful. I really fell in love with the creativity that it offered. I sell items that I crochet and give a portion of my proceeds to charity.”

Besides helping others, Abigail’s lives to perform. She’s been on stage since 2nd grade and will study drama at Smith College in Massachusetts.

She said, “I’ve seen my confidence grow throughout the years that I’ve been doing theater and so I really pushed myself. I started doing ballet lessons and vocal lessons and I have stuck with theater as my main passion in life throughout high school. I’ve been able to connect closer with my emotions when I’m developing the characters that I work with and then getting to deliver that. You create such a special connection with the audience through the lessons you get to teach them. I intend to major in theater in college. It’s just really been something that I’ve found such a light and passion for in my life.”

Abigail Meldrum will attend Smith College, a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, and major in theatre (Abigail Meldrum)

Abigail never stops learning, and that includes languages. She’s taken French since 6th grade and studied abroad in France for two weeks last summer, immersing herself in the culture. She’ll continue to study French in college. She’s also learning American Sign Language on her own to continue to form connections with others.

She also plays field hockey for Collegiate, named Academic All-State and the team’s Most Improved Player after her freshman year.

She leads an incredibly busy life, but keeps things in perspective. She said, “I think it’s important to remember to just be a kid. But in our generation, there are a lot of issues that need solving and it’s important to care about what you care about. I think when you find your passions in life, if you can find places to work and give back to the people around you, that’s great. But sometimes you just need to do what you love and see where you can get in that part of your life.”

Good advice from a young woman to watch and a deserving Spectrum News 1 High School Scholar.