Kent School - Review #11

Kent's location makes the place fairly unique. The campus, bordered by the Housatonic River on one side and the Appalachian Trail on the other side, is simply gorgeous and gives a lot of opportunities for the outdoors. Kent's philosophy on education is also unique as it reflects the Christian spirit. As of now, Kent School still retains its affiliation with the Episcopal Church of the United States and any student is welcomed to go.

Throughout my time at Kent, I came to understand my attachment to Chinese culture and how much it impacted my understanding of the world. While at Kent, far away from home, I had a chance to observe a completely different lifestyle, which pushed me outside of my comfort zone and taught me an appreciation for my own roots. Strangely enough, I now feel better positioned to return home during the breaks or after getting education in America because I understand China deeper than before.

I would have spent more time socializing with American kids and trying to break entrenched boundaries of thinking, but I found that to be a waste of my time more often than not. I wish school made more efforts to integrate international kids with American kids and didn't just let things figure out by themselves.

Kent helped me to get into college in America and I will be forever grateful for making that happen. In terms of Kent itself, I loved the experience. Be it dorm life, athletics, academics, or social life, there were a lot of moments that will stay with me for the rest of my life, particularly so my extensive involvement in mountain biking on Kent's trails.

Try and get all the dorm essentials from Amazon rather than the bookstore. Otherwise, you will end up paying three times as much for the same products.

I like the fact that there is quite a diversity of courses available. The breadth of courses and AP/honors opportunities is unmatched. The faculty is incredibly engaged in their classrooms and are often willing to sacrifice their time to help a student who feels they are struggling.

I liked the fact that everyone is required to do some kind of sport before graduation, which fosters communication among people of different backgrounds. On my sports teams, I have met a lot of friends that stay in touch with me even in college right now. I also appreciate the fact that all the coaches are essentially teachers and dorm parents as well, giving a chance to a bond that is barely accessible elsewhere.

I have attended multiple performances that theater kids at Kent pulled up and I really liked them. Although I haven't had much exposure to the experience itself, I know that the theater director works hard to ensure the whole community comes together for fall, winter, and spring plays.

Kent School implements a concept wherein faculty exist in more than one roll. For example, teachers are often Dorm Parents and coaches, allowing for a more comfortable relationship building as it is more difficult to do something new without knowing at least one person.

Beyond the classroom, the teachers are valued dorm parents. Every member of the Kent family is involved in many aspects of the school, which creates a tight community. I feel like over my years of Kent I have learned a lot from the dorm life: navigating conflict, making friends, and sharing happy and sad moments with dorm residents.

Although the quality of food isn't necessarily the greatest, there is a wide variety of options available. I personally ordered delivery food on the regular basis because I am a vegan and school couldn't accommodate me much, but there are few if any struggles for people with a traditional approach to eating. Also, it's kind of cool that we can have meals with faculty at any day of the week: all we needed to do is ask.

Kent is not exactly in the middle of nowhere, but also not quite connected to the vibrant town life. The town of Kent doesn't have much to offer except for gas stations and local restaurants, which I don't like all that much. Typically, kids go off-campus for food and I haven't seen anyone really trying to get to know the place or, more so, its people.

There is a lot of international students at Kent and those were the people I bonded with the most. Typically, they are the ones who are the most motivated and have a lot of interesting elements of their background. I interacted a lot with American kids, but I noticed that they tend to be pretty clique at Kent, which I didn't like. Otherwise, everyone was kind and welcoming enough and I never felt foreign at Kent.