There are 221 boarding schools in the United States, and 82 in the New England area. So how did some 500 students find their way to the Williston Northampton School, in Easthampton, Massachusetts?
At Williston there are over 30 countries represented in the student body, including Bermuda, Germany, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. With this diverse of a student body, a sense of community is found during four years of high school. This feeling is the result of teachers and their commitment to the students, as well as friends, traditions, and values on campus.
The Williston Northampton School was formed by the merger of two prep schools in 1971: Williston Academy, which was founded in 1841, and the Northampton School for Girls. Students come to Williston for a variety of reasons, whether it is to further their academics or play sports in the NEPSAC division. The community at Williston helps make students’ experiences positive, and faculty are dedicated to creating a strong sense of belonging on campus.
Sarah Levine, has taught English at Williston for six years. She feels Williston was the perfect place to improve her skills as an educator.
“After graduate school, I did not want to leave the Pioneer Valley,” she said. “I stumbled upon Williston and during the job interview I remember feeling excitement at the prospect of teaching middle and high school at the same time.”
“I wanted to improve my craft as an educator and Williston seemed like the perfect place to hone those skills,” she added.
Levine attended UMass Amherst for her undergraduate degree and Sarah Lawrence for an MFA in writing, and Smith College for another Master’s degree in the Art of Teaching.
One of her favorite parts of her job, Levine said is, “The privilege of working with incredible people: colleagues and students. Hands down. Also, fostering a love for the literary arts in the community.”
Caroline Channell, Assistant Dean of Students for Community, has worked at Williston for two years and was also a six senior during her time at Williston.
“I have been around Williston almost my whole life because my older brother [Matt] started at Williston in 2002 and graduated in 2009.”
“I chose to work at Williston because I was a student here and I remember it as a place to be yourself. And there are lots of different types of students who come here,” she said. “I wanted to continue working at a boarding school and the timing of the job opening happened to work out very well.”
Like Levine, Channell said the people she works with, and their willingness to listen and accept new ideas, keeps her coming back every year.
Jade Morris, the new Athletic Director, said she chose Williston because the school aligns with her “passion for fostering student-athlete growth both on and off the field.”
“The school’s commitment to building character through athletics, [and] focusing on purpose, passion, and integrity, deeply resonated with me,” she said. “Williston’s vibrant community and strong athletic traditions presented an exciting opportunity to contribute to a program that values the holistic development of its students.”
Mimi King, a middle school math teacher who has been teaching at Williston for 39 years, came to Williston to make a positive change.
“I came to Williston in 1986 after working in public schools for four years. I was looking for a school where I could make a difference in students’ lives,” she said.
King said her previous job felt like a job and less like a career. She had wanted to be a teacher since she was eight years old, and was looking for a school that felt right.
“I love teaching and working in the dorm and have also enjoyed some coaching as well. I love living in Western Mass. and have made so many friends and connections out here,” she said.
“My favorite part of teaching is when I reach a student who may be struggling with the concepts or when a student shows me a new way to look at a problem,” King said. “I love working with my students and also with my colleagues, who offer friendship and feedback.”
Like many, King said Williston is like family to her. “The Williston community is a second family to me, and I feel happy to come to work each day and hopefully make a difference in students’ lives.”
Audrey Capshaw, a four year sophomore day student from Southampton, Mass., said she came to Williston to follow in the footsteps of her two older brothers, [Connor Capshaw ’23, and Brendan Capshaw ’25].
“When I came to the seventh grade science fair I saw how great the community at Williston was and I thought to myself ‘this is where I want to be,'” she said.
Casey Mattis, a second year sophomore boarding student, from New York, came to Williston for all the possibilities to be something greater.
“I was looking online at schools and Williston looked great to me,” Casey said. “I wanted to go to a school with good academics, specifically math. At a normal private school in New York, there aren’t a lot of options to get better at things.”
Addie Eakin, a second year sophomore boarding student, from Williamstown, Mass., came to Williston to leave her small town and further her education.
“I came to Williston because I wanted a better education and because Williston brings people from all over the world,” she said. “I wanted to meet different people because I came from such a small town.”
She said she looked at two other prep schools, Northfield Mount Hermon and Miss Porter’s.
Mia Shaw, a first year freshmen day student, from Leverett, Mass., said she and her sister [Riana Shaw ’26] came to Williston after hearing about it from a friend.
“I came to play softball and the ex-UMass College softball coach is now the softball coach at Williston, so that was more of a reason to come.”
Mia said she looked at two other prep schools, The MacDuffie School and the Granby School.
Quinn Toll, a first year freshmen boarding student, from Ontario, Canada, came to Williston for the academics and sports.
“I came to Williston to play ice hockey and grow in my academics.”
Jillian Lavallee, a second year freshmen day student, from Hatfield, Mass., said Williston’s sports and academics are why she’s a Wildcat.
“I came because I went to a public school with poor education and a poor performance in sports,” Jillian said. “Also my great great grandfather came to Williston and he was on the ski team.”
Sean Croft, a sophomore boarding student from Marshfield, Mass., said he chose Williston partly because he was a football recruit.
“I also loved the campus and the admission staff that interviewed me, such as Coach Beaton and Ms. Reid, were such great people to talk to. And students like, Dean Ruksnaitis and Rylan Shibley were big factors in my decision.”
Sean looked at schools such as Tabor Academy, Laurence Academy, Worcester Academy, and Loomis Chaffee, but ultimately decided to come to Williston to play football.
Jacob Waah, a four year senior day student, from Holyoke, came to Williston, like Sean, for football.
“My parents knew about the school and told me about Williston,” he said. “The education is also better here compared to a Holyoke public school.”
Jacob said he looked at other prep schools like Suffield Academy, The MacDuffie School, and Wilbraham & Monson Academy.
“I picked Williston over those schools because of the football coaches and because the vibe just felt better here,” he said.
As for the international students, a majority of them found Williston through a program that connects students with boarding schools.
Ashley Zhang, a three year international sophomore boarding student from Shenzen, China, came to Williston because of a connection she had with someone back home.
“My counselor from back home had a kid that was at Williston and I got to connect with that kid. I talked to kids from different high schools and I chose Williston.”
Ashley said she picked Williston because it was near a town and there were things to do.
Leon Sohmen-Pao, a four year international senior boarding student from Singapore, found Williston through a family friend who showed him schools in the United States.
“I had to pick between two different schools, Williston or The Forman School, in Litchfield, Connecticut. I chose Williston because the other school didn’t seem fun and I liked what Williston had,” he said.
Leon said because he has been here for four years, he feels like he belongs.
“I’m apart of the Asian alliance and I have lots of different connections here,” he said.
Rinka Okuno, a four year international senior boarding student from Tokyo, Japan, found Williston through a boarding school fair.
“When I went to the fair I talked to lots of people from boarding schools,” she said. “I found that Williston students were the most relatable people to talk to and they had similar backgrounds.”
