Sophie Miller is a four-year senior from Hingham, Massachusetts. I spoke to her briefly about her experience at Holderness and the advice she would give to any current or incoming students. I focused our topics of conversation around campus and dorm life, being a senior leader, holderness athletics, and her academic experiences.

Dorm Life
Over her four years at Holderness, Sophie lived in Pichette, Hoit, and Graham. I asked Sophie to touch on her experiences living in different dorms and how dorm life has changed since her freshman year. She emphasizes the effects COVID-19 had on her dorm in her first year. Having to stay in your dorm group tended to cause conflicts in groups of efficient personalities but brought most people a lot closer together. She considers some of her dorm mates from freshman year some of her closest friends. “Dorm dynamics have come a long way since COVID; I now consider my dorm a second home.”

Job Program
The job program has stayed fairly the same in her four years at Holderness. The one notable difference in the job program has been the slow decline in attendance . She notes, “As a job leader, it was clear to me that some people don’t apply our school values to showing up for their jobs.” There was recurring frustration in having to deal with the repercussions of her job crew not showing up. Our job program is a big help to our school’s buildings and grounds faculty, kitchen staff, etc., and when people don’t show up for their jobs, it has consequences beyond themselves.”

Core3
The big question in Holderness academics at the moment is the necessity of Core3. I’ve heard many opposing opinions on this topic, so I decided to get Sophie’s take on the matter. In her first years at Holderness, Core3 wasn’t on Tuesdays but on Saturday afternoons in place of classes. The structure of Core3 was activity-based. Activities include a health class with Mrs.Dopp, yoga with Mrs.Lin or Ginger, or a walk on the trails with your group. They were less lesson-focused and more interested in learning about your group. Sophie feels as if we could incorporate some of those lessons and teaching styles into our current Core3 classes.

Academic Experience
Her academic experiences have stayed fairly consistent throughout her four years. She noticed a small shift as she got older in the style of her teacher’s lessons, more to the way college classes are taught, which is harder now but makes her life easier beyond her learning at Holderness. Overall, she liked having a variety of different teachers and classes, but the ones that stuck out to her the most were having Dr. J. for two of her sciences and Mr. Sheppe for her favorite class, Advanced History of the West. A challenge she and many other Holderness students have encountered is balancing academics and athletics. Over the years, Sophie has bounced around on different teams in different seasons, from cross country to alpine skiing, but has found ones that work for her. “It took me a little bit to find a routine that works for me, but now I come to practice excited to run with my friends every day.”

Senior year so far
Sophie’s favorite experience so far in her senior year has been being the senior leader of Graham Dorm. Getting to know the girls in her dorm and setting an example for them, as well as other Holderness students has been a highlight for her. She emphasizes that a big part of being a senior leader around campus is that they are highly encouraged to be extra social, like going out of their way to talk to new people and sit with different people every day at meals, and she loves it. In past years, she has let herself slip below the radar and stay in her smaller group of friends, and this has pushed her back out into a wider group of people. Being a senior leader also comes with big responsibilities, such as managing dorm dynamics and conflicts, collaborating with other senior leaders around campus, and most importantly, making everyone feel like they have a place at Holderness. As a freshman, Sophie had two senior leaders in her dorm, both of whom had an impact on her year. One stepped up to the responsibilities and made Sophie feel at home. She was always there to talk, even in the hard times. She always checked in on her and made sure she was on the right track, and she felt like a genuine friend to Sophie, whom she still talks to regularly. The other one didn’t make an effort to include the underclassmen and new kids and kept to herself much more. Sophie used these two girls as an example of who she strives to be as a senior leader and the mistakes she wants to avoid making. “Senior leaders have a huge impact on their peers’ experiences at Holderness, and it’s their decision in what way they impact.”

I asked Sophie, if she were to give herself one piece of advice each year, looking back, what would it be:

Freshman year:
As a freshman, she would say to keep an open mind. If someone is coming up to talk to you, have an open mind. Even if you don’t connect with them instantly, or if they are even off-putting to you, they may be one of your best friends in two years.

Sophomore Year:
Buy in, no matter how small the benefit it may seem to have for you. After finding your place, don’t forget to step out of that comfort zone now and then. Be present in dorm activities, be part of the play, do weekend activities, go play spike ball on the quad, join a club, and go to a silent disco, no matter how awkward it may feel. Make yourself feel awkward and uncomfortable. “You only have four years here if you’re lucky; don’t waste them fearing the awkward and uncomfortable things.”

Junior year:
Find a good balance between social life and school work. It’s easy to get caught up in grades, colleges, and how heavy your workload is, but it’s important to designate time in your day to be social.

Senior year:
Do things that don’t seem like they’ll have an impact. She went for a hike this past Sunday morning with a group of girls she recently became friends with. She was feeling tired and drained the night before and considered not going because she knew it wouldn’t impact her in the long run. “Looking back now, I would have been disappointed in myself if I had missed this opportunity.” Four years may seem like a long time now, but they fly by. Embrace the awkwardness, take the small opportunities, buy in as much as you can, don’t stress it, take the bull by the horns, and step out of your comfort zone now and then.