Academy Holds 2024-25 Pre-Orientation Programs

By JILLIAN CHENG, ANGELA HE and MARVIN SHIM

     The air is crisp as the sun begins its first trek of a new season across the blue sky. The foggy silence of a long, hot summer evaporates as Exeter awakens to warmly welcome returning and new students. By midday, students from all over the globe stream through the gates, find their new rooms, and walk the paths along the quad, watching the green, brown, and red leaves drift along the wind. Exonians greet old friends and new acquaintances, reflecting upon their past summer and bubbling with excitement and anticipation for the year ahead. However, not everyone’s first day began on September 4. Those who participated in the International Student Orientation (ISO), the Exeter Equitable Experience (E3), preseason, and student leadership training all arrived one week earlier than their fellow Exonians to engage in a series of programs and activities.

     ISO leader and returning lower Andrew Yang described the ISO program as well as its importance: “The program really helped to make things go in order and then helped students know the campus in a really systematic way. At the same time, getting them comfortable with each other and with the leaders was a really important process. Nothing’s really always written on paper. You always have to reach out to people and talk to them about specific moments in their Exeter career to ask for some really insightful advice.”

     A similar program, known as the Exeter Equitable Experience (E3), offered minority students, students with high financial need, and LGBTQ students a three-day orientation to prepare for the year through fun bonding activities. E3 mentor and returning lower Dani Méndez commented on the impact of the program and its benefits during her prep year: “I can say with a hundred percent certainty that this program prepared me to be my best self and have confidence in who I am and to succeed as a person at Exeter where we’re not as represented as other communities.”

     Another returning lower and E3 mentor Shiloh Ffrench added, “Meeting everyone in the Hahn Room was so much fun, and seeing all the new faces and the excitement all the new kids had was definitely my favorite part. Also, the ending when we had a party at Principal Rawson’s house was really fun—we had treats like s’mores by the fire.”

     Returning lower and E3 mentor Marco Andres Rodriguez described his experience with the E3 program and his favorite moments as well, saying, “It was different every day. The first day was mostly introductions and icebreakers. On one of the days we also had a cultural sharing night, which was really nice. Everybody shared something from their home culture. For some people it was a photo, for others it was a piece of jewelry or something special from their culture. Generally, it was just very cool.”

     “This program just genuinely gives people a sense of diversity and welcoming when they’re first arriving,” explained Méndez. “You learn how to communicate and connect with people while also getting to know the campus that’ll be your home for the next four years.”

     “When I met all of the new students for the first time, it was very special and it was very nice to get to meet the new generation of Exonians, especially because I was in their shoes exactly a year ago,” Rodriguez agreed. “So it was very touching and emotional and also very exciting because I was going to be able to guide them as they started their journeys at Exeter.”

     New students participating felt that E3 had helped them establish relationships before school started. “I feel like I definitely did have people that I knew on campus that started because of E3 which strengthened our friendships as school started,” prep Juliana Tavarez said. “So I didn’t really feel out of the social bubble or left out. I felt included, like I had a place on campus.”

     New lower Alex Kim, who also participated in ISO, remarked, “I think that ISO did help me prepare for school better, as I was able to know where my classes are and get to know more people. It was a great way to make friends.”