Four years ago I stood on this campus searching for some perspective. I needed a revelation, or some guiding light to answer the question that has followed me for several years now, “why Choate?” I loved my family, my school and my friends at home, yet I sought something more. Having gone to a small all girls’ school for 10 years, I was ready for a change. When I made the decision to come here, I really don’t think I thought it through. I was happy enough at home, so I was never really sure why I chose Choate. The kids seemed nice, the campus was beautiful in the spring and the classes seemed interesting. Yet it is only now, at the end, that I realize why I chose this school. I definitely took a leap of faith in coming here, and luckily the school took a leap of faith with me.

I am not going to stand up here and act like my four years at Choate were the easiest or the most fun, because they weren’t. They were hard and I had to learn to adapt, which was not a simple process.  When I came to Choate freshman year I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know what it would be like to actually go here – spring visits don’t prepare you for any of it - nothing actually does and the experience is different for everyone.

Before coming to Choate, I was your typical public school kid from a small town in southern Connecticut. Honestly, I didn’t even know boarding schools like this existed until a couple months before I transferred. I remember sitting at the dinner table when my parents brought up the idea of coming here. I was eating my steak, watching the NBA playoffs as Kobe was about to go dunk on some helpless defender when all of a sudden my mom turned off the TV. At first I was a little set back... Then I stared at her with a face that kind of looks like this(make face) and said, “That’s why we don’t watch sports with women.” My dad liked that one and chuckled a bit until my mom gave him the death stare. She turned to me and said, “Check the voicemail.” So, I did, and it was some guy named Adam Finkelstein talking about how he had just received the head basketball coaching job at Choate Rosemary Hall and was wondering if I would be interested in applying for the upcoming year. I hung up the phone and proceeded to ask my mom, “What the hell is Choate? Did he say Choate or Chode? And who the hell is Adam Finkelstein; this has gotta be some kind of joke.”  For the next twenty minutes my parents gave me the whole lecture about how Choate is such a wonderful place and such prestigious academic institution—my mom still hadn’t turned the Lakers game back on, so I was getting a litttttle irritated. I looked at her and said, “Honestly, why would I want to go live at some boarding school that makes you leave the damn door open when you want to have a girl in your room? Yea, I remember when I was twelve too.” She stopped me before I could say any more and said, “In all seriousness, this is something you need to consider. Not many people get an opportunity like this. Did you know John F. Kennedy went there?” I stopped listening then so I have no idea what else she said, but that’s beside the point.