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“Hun feels more like home than my actual home; it’s my place,” Yoyo X. ’24 says. As a proctor in the dorms at The Hun School, one of her responsibilities is to help create and maintain a positive dorm culture for her dormmates, who come to Hun from around the globe.
One of the many benefits of boarding school is the opportunity to live and learn alongside students with different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. In a boarding community, even life’s most mundane tasks can be joyful opportunities to learn about other cultures.
Source: The Hun School of Princeton
“Before coming to Hun, I had never had this level of exposure to so many different cultures,” says Pedro Poli ’21. “Yet here I am, a guy from Brazil, having the same views, opinions, thoughts, and values as people from China, Japan, Bahrain, Russia, Canada, and so on. It really taught me that I don’t ever have to feel alone because somewhere in the world, there are people who think just like me, and I’m so glad I found them here at Hun. They have all taught me something that I didn’t know before.”
But at The Hun School of Princeton, cultural competency isn’t just contained inside the Resident Life community, it is built into the academic curriculum. Courses and programs are designed to give students a broader worldview and to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the world outside their comfort zones. A hallmark of the School’s curriculum is its ability to bridge connections amongst students, who come to the School from dozens of countries and states each year.
All humanities classes are taught in the Harkness Method, where all voices carry equal weight and students learn to explore ideas collaboratively and through healthy discussion and debate.
There are also opportunities outside of the classroom for students to learn how to coexist with different perspectives, including cultural competency trainings and programs. Some examples include the Seeking Education Equity and Diversity (SEED), which teaches community members how to build relationships through structured dialogue; the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Summit, which explore various themes of personal identity before working toward a greater understanding of their peer and community differences; and the What’s Happening Wednesday Cultural Connections Series, which allows students to share parts of their culture with the greater boarding community.
Source: The Hun School of Princeton
The Centennial Speaker series, which takes place during the academic day, gives students the opportunity to learn from speakers, activists, entertainers, and educators from around the globe.
And of course, extracurricular activities are at the top of the priority list for students and teachers alike; there are more than 80 clubs and organizations that forge bonds and strengthen relationships between students, and help them step outside of their comfort zones.
A New Residence Hall on the Horizon
The Hun School values interpersonal connections, and with a new planned residence hall, the School will continue to foster its close-knit community. Scheduled to open in the fall of 2025, the three-story building will accommodate 114 students and 12 faculty families and will feel like a small village with several interconnected in-hall houses, each with a distinct community and aesthetic.
Each in-hall house is designed intentionally to create space for socializing. Small movie and game rooms will have large screens, reclining seats, and game tables. Kitchenettes will allow friends to gather for late-night snacks or impromptu baking sessions with neighboring dorm parents. Whether it be planned community programming or a spur-of-the-moment movie marathon, the boarding program is built on connection.
“Sometimes kids make the mistake of thinking that community just happens,” says Meghan Poller ’95, chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies department and dorm parent. “What they don’t realize is that it takes work and intention to actually build a community and then foster it. Connection is so important in this community. Students are taught the value of reaching out to friends, supporting one another, planning events with others in mind, and doing things that they know are best for the community as a whole.”
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