The Williston Northampton School - Review #10

Williston is different from most boarding schools because it never felt like the stereotyped pretentious prep school. Everyone was generally genuine and accepting. Also, the campus felt cozy and more like home than a school because everything is pretty close-knit and not overwhelming.

Going to a school like Williston, you meet people not just from all over the country but all over the world, and it's a new and exciting learning experience when getting to know people so different from yourself. I'm really happy that I met some people that are still my good friends and mentors now. Williston also prepared me for college so well, not only academically but also with dorm life, extracurriculars, finding out what I like, and just balancing all of it together in peace.

Branch out. Be open-minded. Pursue whatever interests you, even if it's the tiniest interest because you'll never know if you like it or not if you don't try.

The friends I made and the teachers I had and the unique experiences I've been through by boarding.

Check out Faces and Osaka at Noho, maybe watch a show at Pearl Street, go to Mt. Tom's, which is conveniently in town, for a scoop of ice cream and old school candy, and buy something greasy at the StuBop! I could go on but I'll let you discover for yourself. =)

For a small school, there is a surprisingly good variety of classes to take. For example, some interesting electives I took were Social Psychology, Intro to Philosophy, Photography, and Bible As Literature. I also took a directed study my last semester, which was a more focused study on a topic you express deep interest in, and it can be virtually any topic you want as long as you find a teacher willing to be your advisor for the study. I chose psychology, and I’ve heard people doing less explored ones like fashion design, filmmaking, and advanced physics beyond the AP level. So even with the diversity of classes already available on the course list, if you have the passion, you can really study almost anything.

I think the diversity and the abundance of sports available is the strength of the Williston athletic department. There are plenty of team sports, each sport usually in at least three levels, so anyone with any amount of experience can join. If competitive sports aren’t your thing, you can participate in the dance program or do an arts/music/theater alternative, which was a nice choice to have too.

I have to say that one of my favorite things about the arts department was photography class. The thing that’s unique about the photography program is the focus on film photography. We learned digital photography too, but I loved using the darkroom, something that is kind of lost now, but that Williston still has. I also liked going to the theater to watch concerts, musicals, and plays and realizing how extremely talented my peers were.

I liked how there were so many opportunities for leadership and involvement on campus. If i still went to public school, I definitely wouldn't have been able to take advantage of some of them, like proctorship.

You get close to people you live with in your dorm, and I really liked that. The best part of dorm life for me is the friends I got out of it, and living was friends is just always fun. I was a proctor (like a college RA but at boarding school) for two years, and I learned a lot from the experience, and it definitely prepped me for college living more.

Often whatever is at the grill is really good, especially the pasta sautes, stir-fry, omelets, etc. I also liked that they would have kimchi out at the salad bar sometimes!

There’s a supermarket, a pharmacy, a movie rental store, and some places to eat in town, which I found super convenient and unlike other schools I have visited where you may have to take a bus or cab just to get some ice cream, whereas the places mentioned above are close enough to walk. Also, Northampton, or Noho, is a good place to go on the weekend. It's just a short bus ride away. I definitely recommend going there. There are lots of interesting restaurants, quirky shops, and even some places to see a concert/show.

I went to Noho with friends a lot because it's not too far and it has some really good restaurants. The Board of Activities always plans events too, so there's always something to do on the weekends both on and off campus. Some examples are trips to Six Flags, Boston, and NYC, command-a-vans, hypnotists, illusionists, fortune tellers, musicians, etc.