Hello, It’s Me.

As Adam has mentioned multiple times in class, the way an individual interprets the world is based on an accumulation of past experiences and cultural understandings. For that reason, I think it is important that we (as a class) understand where our classmates have come from as a way to understand why they may see the world differently. Specifically, we should understand the types of schools that each of us grew up in and celebrate the way in which we all bring unique perspectives to this project.

With that being said, hi! I’m Libby and I grew up in Bangor, Maine just an hour north of Colby. In Bangor, I attended a private school from kindergarten until eighth grade. All Saints Catholic School had many markings of an elite institution; my classmates and I wore uniforms and community service was extremely emphasized throughout every grade. However, because of its location and the demographic of the students, it never really felt like a truly “elite” school. Bangor, Maine isn’t exactly the fanciest town in New England and many of my classmates were there on a full-ride. The only difference between my school and William S. Cohen (the public school down the street) was that I wore a plaid skirt every day and had religion classes every morning. My parents didn’t send me there to avoid public schooling or to gain some sort of prestige, they simply wanted me to attend a Catholic school during my formative years to deepen my faith.

I went from an eighth grade class of 20 students to a freshman class of 300 at Bangor High School, the largest high school in the state of Maine. Though I had gone from a small private K-8 school to a much larger public school, I was still able to meet new friends, continue getting good grades, and participate in sports just like I had before. Bangor High School had incredible honors courses and exceptional extracurriculars. My principal was involved and all of my teachers were eager to help us succeed.

Despite the incredible quality of my public high school, I found myself defending it when I got to Colby.

“Oh you went to a public high school?”

“Yeah, but it was one of the good ones”.

Despite the fact that we all ended up at the same college, I have occasionally felt “lesser” because of the way in which public schools are often regarded, particularly at such an elite institution like Colby. Sure, there were some cultural disadvantages of attending a public high school- I hadn’t been away from home for longer than 2 weeks, I probably wasn’t as up to date on the preppy fashion trends, and the workload may have come as a little bit of a shock. However, the fact that we’ve all ended up at Colby College makes me question how necessary these elite high schools really are.

With all of this being said, I am extremely anxious to interview our students from Chile and get a closer look at these elite high schools. Having had little exposure to them, it will be interesting for me to be able to compare their experiences with my own and understand how they may be set up for success at an earlier age than those who attended schools like mine. Let the interviewing begin!