Gregarious Grace
As a Head Tour Guide, senior Grace Khaner is often the first smiling face students see as they arrive at Exeter. She has continually fulfilled this role throughout her three years at Exeter, lighting up the school for other students with her bubbly and caring personality.
Khaner came to Exeter as a new lower after deciding she wanted to leave her hometown of New York City for the remainder of her high school career. After researching schools online, she chose to apply to Exeter. Khaner said that her favorite part of Exeter is how she is able to participate in classes, clubs and sports, sometimes all in one day.
She added that she loves the spontaneity of boarding school. “I really appreciate that here you can have those really spur-of-the-moment yet intellectual conversations with people, and you can also do things that are so fun like singing at the top of your lungs at Grill while blasting music,” Khaner said. She explained, “Just little things that you can do five minutes after discussing your English reading from two weeks before, I just love that.”
Khaner also treasures Exeter’s campus, particularly the library, where she does homework while looking out over the Academy Building. However, she admitted that her favorite place is a coffee shop off-campus. “D Squared has my heart,” she said.
Khaner visits the coffee shop to do work, spend time with friends, and occasionally to cheer other students up. Fellow senior Olivia Lei remembers a time when Khaner recognized that she was upset and announced that they would go to town together. “She brought me to D Squared, paid for my London Fog and lemon bar, and then she spent the next hour sitting with me and making me laugh. She’s such an incredible friend,” Lei said.
In addition to spending time with friends, Khaner has grown academically at Exeter. She believes that learning to take initiative is the most valuable of the lessons she has grasped as an Exonian. “Being here, above everything, it’s taught me initiative and just how to communicate, and the fact that communication is the most important thing in the world,” Khaner said.
Khaner put her newfound initiative into action to secure an internship at a laboratory this past summer. She spent her winter break researching labs, reading papers and emailing labs in the hopes of gaining laboratory experience. She was offered an internship at a lab three blocks from her apartment, and spent the summer synthesizing the precursor of a drug for prostate cancer. “I was the youngest by 20 years and everyone had a PhD, but I hung out with their kids,” Khaner said.
Khaner thinks she will go into the sciences when she is older, but she prefers to stay undecided in terms of a specific career. Despite her uncertainty, Khaner has taken an interest in chemistry and counts a class with Instructor of Chemistry Sasha Alcott as one of her favorite courses from her time at Exeter. Alcott also appreciated Khaner’s contributions to the class and said, “Grace is a wonderful young woman, full of curiosity, compassion and creativity. She is one of the most thoughtful and caring students I have met.”
Besides chemistry class, Khaner also enjoyed a course she took during her second term at the school. The history course, “Art and the State,” was taught by former History Instructor Molly MacKean. According to Khaner, the class was unique because “it was the first time I felt like I wasn’t just textbook learning.” She added that the teacher and other students fostered meaningful Harkness discussions. “Our conversations stuck to the materials but they also bled into these bigger life questions that I really like learning about,” Khaner said.
Outside the classroom, Khaner loves giving tours to prospective students. “Whenever I’m really stressed, giving a tour always makes me happier. It is a little moment that brings you back to why you came to Exeter,” Khaner said. She added that her favorite tours are ones where a student opens up to her after seeming nervous at the beginning of the visit. Even in the cold New England winter, Khaner tours up to three students a week. “When it’s cold out, your hands get freezing, but it’s still really fun,” Khaner said.
Her commitment to providing informative and spirited tours has made her a head tour guide and earned her the praise of Admissions Visit Facilitator Deborah Waleryszak. “Grace is light and energy!” Waleryszak said. “She connects so effortlessly with everyone she meets.” Waleryszak added that every time Khaner returns from a tour, the family that accompanied her lauds Khaner’s tour as the best tour they ever had. “No one will ever be able to fill her shoes,” Waleryszak added.
In addition to serving as a head tour guide, Khaner is a co-head of Exonian Encounters, ESSO Music Lessons and co-head and co-founder of Exeter Safe Space. According to Khaner, Exonian Encounters is a committee that raises awareness on racial, religious and socioeconomic differences, and was one of the first clubs she joined on campus.
Khaner founded Exeter Safe Space with fellow senior Sarah Shepley with the goal of providing a space on campus for students struggling with mental health issues to talk to peers. “Because everyone on campus is so busy, we thought it was really important for everyone to have a space to talk to like-minded peers without fear of taking up someone’s time, because it seems like a lot of Exonians are just too nice to do that,” Khaner said. “Exeter Safe Space is an awesome club,” she added.
Along with connecting Exonians through extracurriculars, Khaner also fosters a friendly team dynamic on the junior varsity field hockey and tennis teams. “I’m the definition of a JV athlete, which I’m totally fine with,” Khaner said. She added, “I’m on JV everything and I love it.” Khaner used to play on the field hockey team, but chose to be a team manager this year to have more time in her schedule. She has continued to play on the tennis team and said about the group, “Everyone’s always just really nice and we work really well together, which is awesome.”
Khaner also encourages friendship in her dorm, Langdell Hall. She has been a proud member of the dorm for her three years at Exeter. “I love, love, love Langdell,” she said. “Everybody’s from so many different places, and it’s such a great community and so tight-knit and so fun.” Khaner added that her dorm experience was especially influenced by the class of 2016, who were her role models when she first came to Exeter. “Having role models like them was something that I didn’t totally have in older students before I came to Exeter. They showed me what it means to put yourself into your studies and your life, to make your own choices and find your own path,” Khaner said.
As a current senior, Khaner has embraced her role as a leader and mentor to younger students. “She’s become very confident and sure of herself,” Lei said. “Grace has definitely found her place at Exeter.”