The Williston Northampton School - Review #13

One very unique feature about Williston compared to other boarding schools is its location. Literally right across the street you have endless possibilities. There is a wide variety of restaurants, a very good supermarket (Big E's), and about 5 miles away you have Northampton. Northampton is another town and there are tons of restaurants, clothing stores, and Smith College. Smith College usually has different events open to the public such as concerts, plays, and other informational events. If you want to be somewhere with convenience this is one of Williston's many great qualities.

I feel like I have grown a lot after going to boarding school. I learned a lot about myself and others. Being in such a diverse community is a great way to get different perspectives on the way you may look at life. While I attended Williston o was selected to go the the Student Diversity Leadership Conference out in Seattle which was an amazing experience.There were over 3,000 prep school kids from all across the US that all showed great leadership qualities.

I would have not done anything differently, and i would say to kids going to boarding school to go out there and do things.

Location, People, and teachers

Student Center is a great place to hang out you will always find someone in there. We have the Stu-Bop which is also another food alternative on campus. They make the food to order so your food is always fresh. They have all types of candy so you will always be satisfied. Make sure you make it over there early so you can pick up some cookies cause they go quick. About 4 or 5 dozens are gone in 15 minutes.

What I liked most about the academics at Williston was challenge it presented. There were very few times where I could get at least a B+ on a paper while putting little effort into my work. Williston is a place where you will have to really earn your grade. If you start to to do poorly the teacher will let you know right away. The teachers at Williston do not want to see you fail they will help you in any way to make you succeed in whatever you do. They will give you tons of extra help, most of the teachers live on campus and if they have time they will gladly help you. I know my math teacher senior year (Mr. Blanchette) was in the library almost everyday giving extra help. So the help is out there you just have to go.

What I liked most about the athletics at Williston was every season you HAVE to do something. There are no ways of cutting corners cause if you don't play any sports they have music alternative or the theater crew. The Coaches have a very good knowledge of their particular sport. Most of the teachers are our coaches so it is fun to get a glimpse of their competitive side. There are levels for everyone in most sports. I remember in junior year so many girls tried out for volleyball they made a third team that actually played other schools in official games. Before going to Williston I had no idea what squash was, but my sophomore year I started to play for fun with a couple of friends and it turned out to be a very fun sport. My freshmen year the school brought a new turf football field and it looks great. Playing on it was fun even when it was pouring down rain unlike most schools we were still out there play football because the field stayed perfect. I know if other schools fields were not in good condition they would come over to our field to play their games.

I actually picked up tech theater as a little side activity my sophomore year. Amy and Ilene are the two that make everything happen in the theatre. They are two of the nicest people at the school. I took the theater production class with Amy for one of my art credits and that was a really fun class. About 90% of the class is hands on and its a free course unlike some of the other art courses. I was also apart of the jazz band for about a semester and concert band for all 4 years. Mr. Demerath is the guy in charge of that stuff and he has really good when it comes to music. He even has some of his own songs you can buy on itunes which i found pretty cool. The reason I stopped Jazz Band was because it wasn't really my thing. I know there is actually a local guy who is a great sax player that comes in and teaches us the songs along with Mr.Demerath.

There are many extra-curricular activities at Williston for you to choose from. I know my first 2 weeks there I didn't think i would have anything to do with all my free time after sports, but after going the the activities fair (which happens at the start of every school year) you see all the possibilities that you have. As for volunteering we have a community service club and usually of the weekend activity list there are some habitat for humanity jobs available. It's just a matter of getting yourself out there and signing up for them. By doing these other activities also helps in making friends so at least join 2 or 3 clubs when you come.

Dorm life is pretty fun there is always something going on. The past three years Ford has been the dorm to go to for boys. Last year they just built a brand new a freshmen boys dorm. I was a proctor in that dorm last year and it was amazing. So if you are looking to be a freshman boy next year this is a huge perk for you. Most of the rooms are pretty decent in size some rooms are bigger than others. I'm not to sure how the room selection process is now because it all changed last year. If you are a sophomore,junior, or senior its pretty easy to get a transfer if its in the dorm you already live in. I did that my sophomore year with no problem.

The food is good. I'm not going to say its like your regular home cooked meal but you can tolerate it. Compared to my freshmen year i think its a lot better Mr.Martin the guy in charge of dining services is always out during lunch and dinner saying hello to kids. He is a pretty cool guy and very open to new suggestions. All of the dorms have fridges and microwaves so if you want you can bring your own food. If you want you can go out to eat in the town as well (its not mandatory to eat in the dining hall).

The town we live in is Easthampton, which is in no way affiliated with The Hamptons. I basically describe what the town is like in the first question, but it is a very safe town. There is a police/fire/ambulance station about two blocks away and they respond pretty quickly and on top of that we even have our own school security. Williston is literally in a town so expect to see non-Williston people as well. Compared to other boarding schools in the area I like the convenience. Literally right across the street you have endless possibilities. There is a wide variety of restaurants, a very good supermarket (Big E's), and about 5 miles away you have Northampton. Northampton is another town and there are tons of restaurants, clothing stores, and Smith College. Smith College usually has different events open to the public such as concerts, plays, and other informational events. If you want to be somewhere with convenience this is one of Williston's many great qualities.

Social life was pretty cool. Once your in Williston you are pretty free to do whatever you want besides the some of the rules that you have to follow. You can always find people hanging out on the quad whether the are doing school work, playing ultimate frisbee or even a friendly game of jona ball which is played outside of Ford.