Time is running out for Williston’s seniors with less than 100 days left in the school year, and this is eliciting many complex emotions and realizations.  

Williston threw a 100-days until commencement party for the senior class on Friday Feb. 11 consisting of superlative announcements, catered food, and many fun activities ranging from laser tag to mechanical shark riding. The night was full of laughter and smiles, but for some seniors, it was bittersweet. 

Especially with Covid interrupting the high school experience, some students feel they didn’t truly have four years of high school, making it seem that much more fleeting and upsetting. 

Grace Bean, a senior from Boston, Mass., wishes she had more time at a “normal” Williston, and reflects fondly on her school pre-Covid. 

“A small part of me definitely feels like I missed a chunk of high school I’m not going to get back so I guess I’m just accepting it,” Grace said. “ My freshman and first half of sophomore year here was the best time of my life, and knowing how fun this place can be and then getting the second half of it squashed kinda makes the sweet parts sour.” 

However, Grace is hopeful that “Now that masks are off I feel like the normalcy is going to flow back in.”

Some students have been going to Williston since middle school, when they were 12-years-old, and have spent their primary formative years on this campus. While all are excited to embark on the rest of their lives, many will deeply miss the place where they created years of happy memories.  

Sofia Michalski, a six-year senior who lives on campus with her family, said the 100-days party was just a reminder that soon she will be leaving the place and people she has called home for most of her life.  

“I have started to think about things changing and how I only have so much time left of being home with my sister, which I don’t like to think about too much because it makes me sad,” Sofia said. “I will miss having my friends, school, and home all in one place.”  

Going to Williston and living where you go to school, it can be easy to fall into routines. A lot of students vocalized that the small things that comprise their Williston experience are what they will miss the most. 

Lily Dardano, senior day student from Northampton, Mass., will miss the experience of being a Williston student and all the things that come along with it, “like Tandem and ‘Dunks’ [Dunkin’] in between classes, sitting with my friends in usually the same place in the dining hall for lunch, walks around campus when it’s nice out, game days, and fun little weekend activities with my friends.” 

Adeline Hume, a six-year senior faculty student, agrees with Lily and says she will miss the small details of being a Williston student “like getting coffee during a free, or going to football games.”

For many students, being involved in sports has been a big part of their Williston experience, and their teams have become like family. 

Adeline is also dance captain and has been a part of Williston’s dance program since seventh grade. 

“I also don’t plan on dancing after this year so I’ll definitely miss that as well,” Adeline said. 

Gianna Langone, a two-year boarding senior, came to Williston to play basketball and will miss her team dearly, though she will continue her career at Babson College. 

“I’ll miss basketball at Williston because of the friendships I’ve made through it and all the laughs and fun I’ve had on the court,” she said. 

For Williston’s boarding students, combining living and academic environments combined has helped foster an incredibly deep bond between students. While these bonds are strong, they will also be tested through distance. Unlike other day schools where high school friends are connected through a hometown, Williston students live all over the world, making staying in touch that much more difficult. 

“Something that’s super hard with becoming really close with students at Williston is that we aren’t all from the same town or the same neighborhood like public school students so we’re kind of in a diaspora when we go off to college,” Grace said. “I can’t really go see any of my Williston friends when I go home for breaks in college, so I’m trying really hard to just soak up every last minute with my friends.”

Though Lily feels bittersweet about leaving Williston, she understands that though Williston will always be an important part of her life, there is more to experience in the rest of the world.

“I’m ready to go,” she said.