Berkshire School - Review #10

Berkshire is more than a school: it is a lifestyle, a culture, and a family environment that makes you want to be successful in and out of the classroom everyday. Every person at Berkshire is there to help you become a better person while gaining an education that will prepare you for college. As a hockey player, I have played in many ice rinks and besides professional venues, Berkshire is the nicest rink I have been fortunate enough to play in.

At Berkshire, I learned how to live on my own and prepared me for the college lifestyle. I was not nervous at all when I went to college because Berkshire prepared me for that moment.

I wish I got to know the dress code better because I brought a lot of unnecessary clothes.

I loved the culture and all the people that make Berkshire the place it is. All of my best friends are from Berkshire. The faculty members there truly care about each student like they are their own child.

Shawn's place is an awesome place to hang out, and if you visit Berkshire don't forget to check out Black Rock and the Jack.

The academics at Berkshire was amazing, I went to a public school for 4 years before Berkshire so I was able to see both sides of the spectrum.Berkshire's academics were challenging, but there is so much help after school I never felt like I was struggling. The teachers are readily available if you are in study hall at night and are stuck on a problem or have a question. Also, the class sizes are very small which was awesome for me because I was a shy student. Having 8-12 students in my classes forced me to interact and learn with everyone. At the time I was a little nervous, but it really helped me as I am entering my junior year at Northeastern.

Sports have been apart of my life since I was 3-years old. As I stated above, I was only able to play one sport during my time at Berkshire due to injury. I played varsity ice hockey. Playing hockey for Berkshire was the first time I really has a sense of what it meant to represent your school. I played club hockey my entire life and never for a school. I would walk to the dining hall the next morning and kids would tell me great game. It was amazing to me how many people would come and support our team. The culture of the entire Berkshire School is so supportive with every sport and student it was so much fun playing or watching games.

The theatre program at Berkshire was amazing. I loved going to all the plays. Although, I am not much of an arts, music and theatre person I was so excited for the plays each season.

Often times after classes on Saturday, I would skate with the local kids at the hockey rink. It was a lot of fun to be out there with them and teach them a few things about hockey.

I had one roommate at Berkshire who was also a first time student like me. She loved sports as well and we got along. The dorm life at Berkshire is definitely one of the big things that prepared me for college. It was hard to adjust to at first because I was use to living at home, but having great dorm parents, roommate, and friends in the dorm made it a lot easier to adjust. We would have study hall from 8-10 Monday-Friday and Sunday. I typically would utilize this time to the fullest and would get all my homework done. After that if you were hungry you could order food or just go to bed. The dorm life was a lot of fun and my favorite part was dorm wars.

The dining hall was great. They had many options that you could choose from if you are a picky eater like me. I would go to breakfast every morning before class and then after three classes have lunch. I would go back to class, then to sports, and finally it was time for dinner. Typically I would sit with the kids on my hockey team because we would all go from practice to the dining hall.

Being a boarder, I did not go outside of the school much. We would go on many field trips for advance journalism in the surrounding areas and they were beautiful. I would go to Great Barrington to eat sometimes, but being under the mountain at school everyday was petty awesome.

I loved the social life at Berkshire. Like I said before, I went to a public school for 4 years and Berkshire one year. My best friends are from one year at Berkshire. Saturday nights were really enjoyable hanging out with people, and since its a smaller school you get to know everyone really quick. The culture is amazing at Berkshire and it creates a positive environment amongst students.