Senior of the Week: Jacqueline Subkhanberdina
By BELLA JIN, ROXANE PARK and HEMANI STALLARD
On a chilly Monday night in Bancroft Hall, every resident is met with a warm smile and a fun check-in question, courtesy of senior and proctor Jacqueline Subkhanberdina. Each one is slightly different. What’s your favorite body of water? Are you more of a floor or chair person? Regardless, every answer leaves Bancroft residents feeling warmer and even more at home.
Subkhanberdina’s family hails from Kazakhstan, but all four of her older sisters attended boarding high school in the United States. “[My parents] didn’t necessarily want us to go to boarding school,” Subkhanberdina reminisced. “It was just something that my oldest sister did, and she had a really great experience.”
Subkhanberdina followed her sister, Shantelle, to the Academy, and her love for the campus and its atmosphere only grew after she toured the school. “What really drew me to Exeter was also how diverse it was and the kinds of kids from all over the world that it attracts. There’s so much that’s offered here, and I wanted more,” Subkhanberdina said.
Growing up, Subkhanberdina lived in many countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom and France. “In terms of language, media, etcetera, [coming to the United States] wasn’t a culture shock, but it was my first time living and spending a long amount of time here,” Subkhanberdina said. “It was just little things. I didn’t know about sports teams or use Fahrenheit — that was definitely a shift. [But] in general, I also noticed this openness and friendliness that I hadn’t experienced as much before.”
Being the middle of nine siblings also imbued Subkhanberdina with a deep appreciation for family. Her younger brother and prep Janibek Subkhanberdin fondly recalled moments traveling with her. “She keeps everything under control but isn’t stressful and is just very fun to be around. [She] jokes and has conversations about really anything,” Subkhanberdin said.
Senior Zoë Chang also credited her ability to connect with people of all ages to her many younger siblings. “One thing that I love is how she interacts with kids,” Chang said. “She just gets along so well with younger people, but also with older people and everyone in between. Being able to have a genuine conversation with somebody of any age is incredible.”
Subkhanberdina’s academic pursuits at the Academy have largely been related to the arts, both visual and performing. “I love the art department at Exeter so much,” she said. “I just spent a lot of time here painting. I love working with oils and multimedia components.”
“Once, I did this portrait and then added tea leaves into the background. My room has this little art nook, so I just like to mess around with watercolor and other mediums. It’s definitely like a stress reliever for me,” she added.
During break times, Subkhanberdina loves to spend time in peace. She usually frequents the art studio to work on an unfinished project or goes on picnics with her friends during the spring. She also takes regular walks to the farmers market. “There’s this really wonderful booth at the farmers market with this Ukrainian woman who sells really good food, which is kind of similar to home food for me just because it’s like post-Soviet cuisine,” Subkhanberdina said.
Subkhanberdina has also participated in productions by the theater department, including The Wolves. “That was just another creative outlet,” she said.
Outside the classroom, Subkhanberdina also flourishes. She holds many roles on campus, including being Editor-in-Chief of PEAN, an International Student Alliance (ISA) board member, and Editor-in-Chief of The Phillips Exeter Asian. When asked about her role in PEAN, Subkhanberdina said, “I was first an Art Associate. Then I became an Ads Editor, and I’m Editor-in-Chief this year. I love having that creative liberty and being able to create this beautiful book…to hold onto for the rest of your life.”
“I was just naturally drawn to a lot of identity-based clubs and groups when I first came,” Subkhanberdina continued. “Coming to Exeter was actually really nice because I got to connect with the Asian community here, and through doing that, I found a stronger sense of self.”
Upper Nhan Phan has worked with Subkhanberdina frequently in their shared leadership positions in the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) — for example, the Asian Advisory Board (AAB) and ISA, which recently collaborated to organize the AAB x ISA Night Market. “She has been able to realize a vision of whatever she does, and she turns it into reality,” Phan said. “She is motivated and still able to have some fun in the process.”
Subkhanberdina’s friends also emphasized her passionate drive and ability to make ideas come to life. “I admire her creativity and her ability to string words together,” Chang said. “Sometimes it’s not words that she uses, but art or paint. I always admire people who are able to use whatever form of expression they can to convey something.”
“Jacqueline is a charismatic leader,” senior Lara Muyombwe said. “She’s humble and honest and kind, and she brings with her an awareness of the beauty and intricacies of life. Every simple thing is a pleasure. Jacqueline is a natural-born leader in the way [that] she compels others to rethink the beauties of life.”
When asked to describe her in one word, her friends and family had an array of different ideas — all surrounding her charismatic, bold character.
“It’s nice having this connection with each other, especially when many of us are away from home and our families.”
“Jacqueline is a very whimsical person,” upper Amber Zou said. “She’s just so pure-hearted, kind, and hardworking and such a good person. There’s no one else I’ve met that is just so pure. She’s down to earth.”
Her brother Subkhanberdin shared a similar belief. “I would use the word ‘individual,’ because she seems very herself. She is very special, as her own unique person that does her own unique things in her own unique way,” he said.
Phan echoed Subkhanberdin’s sentiment. “She is bold. She knows what she has to do. She’s not afraid to be an active team player. She has always exhibited [these qualities], she’s continuing to, and since it’s her senior year, she’s having a lot of fun. We’re all here for it.”
However, others revealed that Subkhanberdina has grown and changed in other ways.
“I’ve seen her become a lot more sure of herself,” senior Maya Cohen said. “I’ve seen her experiment with how she dresses and how she acts and gain a lot of sureness of herself and her place. She’s just like, ‘I’m here. This is my space.’ That’s really cool to see.”
Subkhanberdina has left a strong impression on the people around her by forming meaningful relationships. “She’s done so much, but she’s so humble and very compassionate about everyone in every situation,” Cohen said. “I’ve seen her interact with so many different people, and she just knows how to calm people down but also be very open about herself in a way that makes her very welcoming.”
“There are lots of situations where there’s something’s happening, or we need to figure something out,” Cohen continued. “It only takes her two seconds before she’s snapped in, and she knows what she’s doing, what needs to happen. And it gets done. That’s a really interesting thing that took me a long time to learn about her — she’s so good at dealing with on-the-cuff situations.”
“I admire her mindset and ability to forgive or resolve conflicts,” Subkhanberdin echoed. “My favorite thing about Jacqueline is how she is never truly judgmental in a way that hurts other people. It lets me and a lot of other people talk to her honestly. She is a really nice, kind, refreshing person to talk to who is there and supports you when you really need it.”
For Subkhanberdina, life is best enjoyed through small moments with the people around her. “My most memorable experiences are with people around me…because Exeter is a bit of an isolated campus,” Subkhanberdina said. “You are kind of forced to make the most of simple joys to make sense of life.”
In addition to her many other positions, Subkhanberdina is a gem to the proctor team in Bancroft Hall. “Bancroft has grown over the past few years to become such a genuine home away from home for me,” Subkhanberdina said.
She described how her aspiration to become a proctor came from the previous proctor team. “The proctors last year really helped me in so many ways,” Subkhanberdina continued. “They gave me a sense of comfort in a big school, a big country, and a big sort of unfamiliar place. I really wanted to continue that when I applied for proctor, and I just love connecting with my dorm so much.”
Instructor in Science Katherine Hernandez, Subkhanberdina’s adviser and dorm head of Bancroft Hall, also commented on her role as a leader. “Something I really appreciate about Jacqueline, especially in [faculty-proctor] meetings, is [how she] creat[es] spaces that are affirming and welcoming for others. It’s really central to the work that Jacqueline does.”
Subkhanberdina recounted her favorite proctor memory. “A couple [of] months ago, we organized this sort of dorm EP night with the dorm faculty,” she said. “Mr. Moriarty bought us treats, tea, and hot chocolate. I reached out to people who would want to perform, play the guitar, or sing on the common room floor.”
Lower Aveen Burney also remembered the event. “Eventually, we’re all sitting on the floor of the common room, both of us are playing the guitar, everyone’s singing, and Mr. Moriarity is also playing the guitar and singing. That was just such a wholesome little Bancroft event, and it was great to sing and perform with her.”
In her time as a proctor and Bancroft resident, Subkhanberdina has impacted the lives of so many students in her dorm. “She’s somebody who models through her own example, not just academically but in terms of community engagement. She’s very level-headed, fair, thoughtful, and always, always centering the right thing,” Hernandez said.
“When I first came to Bancroft last year as a prep, I was very scared,” Burney said. “She made the space very welcoming. She’s such a great listener, just one of those types of people where you could tell her whatever, and she’ll listen and be very responsive and give good advice.”
Hernandez also noted Subkhanberdina’s nurturing nature. “She likes to call the dorm kiddos chickies, and she’s always very warm. I say this word quite specifically, but she has a very maternal way about her that’s deeply caring and protective,” Hernandez said.
“She’s just very forward and personable,” Zou added. “Even people she’s just met, like the preps or lowers. She’s still able to just be friends with them while also exhibiting leadership when necessary to be a proctor. ”
Chang expressed agreement with Zou. “Whenever I’m in her room, she always has lower classmen and upperclassmen there. She’s able to interact with fluency, and I think other people recognize that and are drawn to her because of it. With each conversation she has with someone, she’s leaving some sort of a legacy with them.”
That is something that many people agree with. “Jacqueline leaves behind a legacy of maturity and thoughtfulness,” Muyombwe said. “She is a leader and an activist and a friend and a kind companion, and it has been very much noticed. She is an integral part of Exeter.”
Subkhanberdina’s friends have full confidence in her future. “I’m just so proud that she can go out and just be herself,” Cohen said. “I know that in college, she’s going to just be unequivocally herself, really in every way.”
“She’s open to just experiencing life and not restraining herself to anything in particular,” Chang added. “Just knowing how she’s grown these past four years, Jacqueline likes to just let life take her where it goes. She’s going to do something amazing for sure.”
