New Students Admitted

[WEIRDLY CUT OFF AT THE END. CAN'T FIND END]Over 300 new students will arrive on cam- pus this fall, bringing a myriad of interests and life experiences to campus with them.“The group of students is smart, talented, diverse, and kind,” Director of Admissions Michael Gary said. Around 40 percent of the new students will receive scholarship aid. The students come from 19 countries and 34 states, plus the District of ColumbiaAccording to International Student Coordi- nator Christine Knapp, new students will arrive from many underrepresented areas including Australia, Nepal, Brazil, Turkey and France. “From the contact that I’ve had with them, I’ve found them to be an exciting, interesting bunch, and I’m sure they’ll add a lot to our community,” Knapp said.Students come to Exeter with a variety of interests, ranging from debate to music.Incoming upper Nathan Bray said that he was excited about the opportunities that Exeter offers. “I am anticipating all of the political and debate clubs that Exeter has to offer. Hopefully, if I have time, I will have the opportunity to try new things such as StuCo, as I have never been a part of student government before,” Bray said. Bray, an avid dancer, is also a part of Model UN and founded Amnesty International at his high school.Incoming senior Jirawat Anunrojwong of Bangkok, Thailand, one of only a handful of Royal Thai scholars selected out of thousands of Thai scholars to study abroad, hopes to pursue an in-depth study of mathematics at Exeter. He, along with fellow Thai scholar Nat Sothanaphan, will take a postgraduate year at Exeter before attending university.“Boarding schools provide a wide range of courses and extracurricular activities for me to explore what interests me most and suits me best so that I can seek enriching experiences and develop my expertise,” Anunrojwong said. He is an International Math Olympiad Gold

Medalist and is involved in charity work in Thailand in his free time.Many new students are also interested in Exeter’s campus communities in subjects such as art. “I’m really excited to be a member of the community—boarding school is a brand new experience,” prep Isabel Bitman, who has lived in Northern California and Boston, Massachusetts, said. “I’m interested in music, especially singing. I care a lot about arts.” Bitman has played violin for eight years in multiple orchestras and has studied voice for two years.Incoming lower Kevin Sun, from Naper- ville, Illinois, is also coming to Exeter in part because of its math community. Sun, who has participated in many math and programming competitions, learned about Exeter from senior and math club head Ray Li.“When I visited there were a lot of cool students in the math club, and the culture seemed very supportive,” Sun said. “The stu- dents there seem really motivated, and they were fun to talk to.”For many students, the decision to attend Exeter was a difficult one. “It was a very hard decision to make for my family because we live so far away,” incoming prep Soren Rossi said. “My parents were sad because of my de- cision, but they knew it would help me grow as a person.”Students’ feelings towards attending Ex- eter range from apprehensive to hopeful, and are often a mixture of both.Incoming prep Isabel Bagger is hopeful that Exeter will allow her to develop into a more assertive student. “I think Harkness is a good way to learn. I’m naturally a shy person, and I don't really speak at all in my classes now. Sitting around a table that’s based on speaking your thoughts to your classmates would definitely get me to talk more,” Bagger said. “I feel like this school really promotes independence and the idea of finding yourself and growing and maturing to become a better person. It seems a little overwhelming right