By Samara Kinyanjui ’27
Being away from home is a new experience for some students. For the 2023-2024 school year, The Frederick Gunn School welcomed fifty-six new freshmen to join our community. Some students traveled from across the country and, for some, the world to study on its campus.
The freshman class of 2023-2024, of fifty-six students, boasts students from six different countries and nine different states. Many students have come to the Frederick Gunn school to explore their academic pursuits. Also, some students chose to attend Frederick Gunn for sports or were attracted by the beautiful campus/ environment.
In the United States, about 35,000 students attend boarding school. Many students take the opportunity to come to the U.S. to study because there can be more opportunities in America than anywhere else. The Frederick Gunn School was created to educate a vast amount of students of different genders, races, and ethnicities. Over the past 151 years, the school has welcomed many international and domestic students to obtain academic excellence and character development.
Two freshmen students have different feelings about this new experience. Snow Zhang ‘27, an international student from China, shared this sentiment. “I felt nervous about meeting new people, and the fact that I had to meet my roommate on move-in day made me even more nervous. But then I started meeting people who made my nerves fade. I felt sad about leaving my family in Beijing. But the people on campus and in the dorms made me start to feel welcome, and I felt like I could be my true self.” Charlotte Friedman ‘27, who once lived in California but now resides locally in Washington, gave insights into day student life. “The Frederick Gunn School does a great job integrating students in their daily academic life by letting them have space in a House and letting them know about activities that they plan on having compared to other schools that I looked at.” Frederick Gunn is all about striving to make one’s high school experience great.
Ms. Dea, Director of International Recruitment, is extremely excited to welcome the Class of ‘27 for the 2023-2024 school year, “Bringing together a freshman class of just fifty-six from hundreds of applications is exciting! When I see everyone starting to arrive on campus, I see two things: potential and adventure. Each of our students is walking on campus with the potential to do great things and, best of all, to have great adventures. I encourage our new students to say yes to any opportunity that presents itself. Then, every day will be an adventure, and there is no better life than that!”
