Avon Old Farms School - Review #2

The physical campus is probably the most unique thing about it. There is nowhere that looks or feels like Avon and it instills the community with a sense of togetherness in ways that are often overlooked. The faculty, staff and students all grow and change with time, but TPR's architecture gives a feeling of solidity that I think helps people stay grounded in the day-to-day.

It's hard to look back and make those kinds of judgments with any real certainty. I definitely pushed myself very hard when I was at Avon and I'm happy that I had some success in several different areas while I was there. Growing up on campus, the school has shaped who I am from an early age, so I'm not sure I can really pinpoint how from inside the bubble.

Wouldn't change much that's applicable to a survey like this; my advice is to jump in wholeheartedly from the start regardless of how nervous or uncomfortable you feel. You get out what you put in and if you try to seclude yourself or reject the boarding school lifestyle, you'll only make matters worse. You'll be surrounded by good people who genuinely care, so try to accept them. The more time you spend with these people, the more comfortable you'll get.

Community really is a rare thing. I went to a relatively small liberal arts school expecting the same sort of camaraderie you find at Avon and it just wasn't there. Being part of a group of people all pushing hard to reach their goals is special and I think that's what a lot of Avon alumni come to realize as time passes. There just aren't many places like it; the "brotherhood" is real.

From my time on the faculty, I'd promote Diogenes as a good dorm. Mr. Rice is a fantastic dorm head with a great balance of compassion and discipline. As I said above, my advice would be to get involved. Join a couple clubs early on even if you're not sure whether you're interested in them. Go to varsity games. Don't lock yourself in your room playing video games 1st semester. You'll have plenty of time to play games later if you want to, but for now throw yourself into the community and see what you stick to.

I had a lot of great teachers and again, I think the architecture really helped set the mood in a way I didn't appreciate as a kid. The dark wood, the stone, the smell of the Quad classrooms really put you in a certain state of mind that I think re-enforced the value of learning. When I think about why I became an English major in college (which was not really my intent going in), a large part of it must be the string of great English teachers I had at Avon that instilled the value of thinking about stories and being able to articulate thoughts efficiently and uniquely.

I mostly did theater so I don't have much to add here, but a lot of my favorite moments come from varsity football, soccer and hockey games when virtually the whole school got together to create a fanbase that inevitably blew our rival's out of the water. Charging out of the woods together in tattered clothes like a bunch of madmen was an incredible experience.

Loved the people I worked with. Both are gone, but Robert Palmer and Gayle Robinson both pushed me harder than anyone else has and got performances out of me that I couldn't have imagined beforehand. The music facilities are certainly top-notch. Both the theater guys and the Riddlers provided really tight-knit sub-brotherhoods that are what Avon is all about.

It's gone by the wayside, but Society of St Brendan with Mr. Beneski was an incredible thing and if I'd stuck around longer as faculty, I would've tried to bring it back. Thursday nights we'd go to the chapel with a pre-appointed topic (things like love, forgiveness, pride...semi-philosophical stuff or holidays if they were approaching) that someone would do a short presentation on and then we'd all just talk about it. It was the calm moment amidst the storm of Avon life and it was instrumental in me getting everything done without freaking out.

Not very qualified to speak on it, but the layout of the Quad dorms creates an inescapable community for both bad and good.

Chicken sandwiches on Fridays.

Porter's girls within 10 minutes was nice.

It wasn't too cliche-y. There were groups of guys who gravitated toward each other and hung out a lot, but there was never any sort of real animosity between the various groups with different interests. Hockey players, singers, artists, and math studs all got along pretty seamlessly.