Academy Life Day Makes Time for Dorm Bonding

Each fall on Academy Life Day, advisory groups and dormitories bond through fun: corn mazes, apple picking, T-shirt decorating, trips to the beach and more. This past Monday, students not only made and rekindled friendships within dorms and advisory groups, but also took the class-free day to relieve stress.Proctors and faculty planned the activities for the day off from classes. Amen Hall’s proctors and dorm faculty, for example, met and discussed event options with the goal of unifying the dorm. While the Amen proctors ultimately decided where to go, the dorm faculty dealt with the majority of the logistical pieces, such as ordering lunch.Although Exonians have already been on campus for three weeks, many students feel that due to Exeter’s busy schedule, time allotted for dorm bonding is limited. Academy Life Day provides a chance for dormitories and advisory groups to spend much needed down time together.Autumn Herness, a new lower in Bancroft, saw Academy Life Day as a great opportunity to bond with her new dorm during their “Mini Olympics” at a nearby park.“I like Academy Life Day because I made connections with people in my dorm that I didn't know before. I also feel like I belong to Bancroft more,” she said.

Last year, when Pranay Vemulamada was a new lower in Cilley Hall, he felt encouraged to form friendships with other students at the dorm’s annual beach retreat.“Academy Life Day is great for new students because it creates a group atmosphere where everyone is accepted,” Vemulamada said. “For me last year, it was when I finally started making friends with the people in my dorm. We were all out of the dorm doing the same activity in a new environment.”The dorm events not only help new Exonians feel included, but also give returning students the opportunity to spend time with friends from all grades.Senior and proctor Rachel Sachs described her favorite part of the day:“The best part of Academy Life Day is forming stronger bonds between girls in the dorm in a setting where we're not divided based on grade, floor or past experiences,” she said.During the day off, old dorm traditions are shared with new students, and new traditions are cultivated among both new students and returning students, altogether strengthening the bonds within the dorm.For example, Cilley Hall’s Szechuan buffet dinner is a dorm tradition.Meanwhile, according to returning lower Jesus Rivera, Ewald is forming a new dorm tradition—they have gone to the Hilltop Fun Center for Academy Life Day three years in a row now. There, Ewald participates in many fun and competitive bonding activities including go karting, laser tag and a driving range.Academy Life Day is not only for boarding students. This year, lower and day-student Alexandra Papadakis went to Cider Hill farm with her advisory to pick apples and eat cider donuts.Afterwards, Papadakis went to her advisor’s house to bake apple pies.“Each person made two: one to bring home to their family and then one to deliver to an adult on campus. I think that this day definitely is beneficial; it’s a nice break from the normal work days and is a fun way to get to spend time with your advisory outside of a school setting,” Papadakis said.Although dorms and advisor groups tend to have other activities throughout the year, Academy Life Day’s events are unique because of the stress-free environment created by a three-day weekend. Lower Efia Nuako thought her dorm’s corn maze trip was more fun, as students escaped their work for a few hours.“For me, overall, Academy Life Day was beneficial because it allowed the dorm to have a full day together without the stress of work, which, in my opinion, allowed us to form a much more genuine bond,” she said.Lower Kelvin Green agreed with Nuako. He believes the memories he created this Monday would last longer than those of a normal weekend, when he is worried about academics.“Playing capture the flag really took my mind off of the paper I had to write, the chem. test I had to study for and the reading I still had to do for English,” Green said. “Moments like these are priceless, especially at a community like Exeter, where everyone is driven for academic excellence. These moments of fun really make you feel happy to be alive and happy to have a community of friends, or at least it did for me.”Indeed, both students and faculty, such as Academic Support Counselor Pamela Parris, enjoyed the day off. Parris’ advisee group visited a farm where they worked together to get out of the corn maze and visited the various animals. Then afterwards, the group went out for a pizza lunch and homemade desserts at Parris’ apartment.“I love Academy Life Day, and for new students especially, the timing was just right for a day off filled with fun,” Parris said. “It lets everyone find out that we all have a sense of humor and love a good outing in beautiful weather.”