For boarding students, dorm life entails a significant lifestyle change compared to the standard routine at home. The drastic shift on the daily schedules of students have led them to develop new habits. As newcomers to Williston, many have admitted to have been overwhelmed by the packed schedule and the heavy workload at first.

“What shocked me the most was the expectation that a student must take part on classes, clubs, sports, and other afternoon activities, in addition to finding time to spend with friends; all in the same day,” Alan Rodal, three-year senior from Mexico City, said.

However, the hectic routine turned out to have a favorable impact on students, which Williston graduates have noticed as they navigate through their college life. Several alumni shared that important habits developed throughout their high school years at Williston have stuck with them for the upcoming years.

Linda Askenazi ’21, a music therapy major at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa, claims the most important practices developed during her time at boarding school to be time management and discipline, which she continues to apply at college.

“As a music student, I have to be very efficient with my time and stay motivated to practice a single instrument up to 4 hours a day,” she said. “Williston helped me develop the skills needed to be able to stay focused and get the work done.”

Even after graduation, Linda’s custom of taking advantage of  free time persists.

“Now that I am in college, the habit of doing homework whenever I have the time and avoiding procrastination has helped me stay on top of things,” she added.

Poon Phentrakul ’21, student at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., agrees that Williston provides its alumni with the ability to structure one’s tasks to carry them out most efficiently, and has found the habit of task checking an important piece of his routine.

“I find a time every day to get my schedule for the day together and check which homework or presentations I have to do,” he said.

Jenna Perry ’21, now a student at Bates College, told The Willistonian that even as she “would rarely do homework during study hall at Williston,” she “now clear[s] [her] schedule for three hours every other day to do work at night in the library’s quiet section.”