From Self-Conscious to Confident, Rectory Helped Sienna R. '27 Prepare For What's Next.

Sienna is starting her first year at Pomfret School, a destination she might never have aspired for if not for the confidence she gained during her transformative eighth-grade year at Rectory School. Below is a transcript of her recent interview in which she reflects on what it means to join the community and how she gained confidence, new hobbies, and friends from around the world. 

Get To Know Sienna

Interviewer: Tell us your name and how you have grown during your time at Rectory? 

Sienna: Hello, my name is Sienna. I'm from Thompson, Connecticut, and I went to Rectory my eighth-grade year, and I've grown a lot from it. Before I came to Rectory, I would say I was very self-conscious. I just felt like a side character or a part of the crowd. But coming to Rectory, the main impact it had on me was building my confidence. I felt so much more of an individual coming here. I feel like a completely different person since leaving.

Academic Expectations and Breakthroughs

Interviewer: What was your experience at Rectory, and how has the community impacted you as a student? 

Sienna: Rectory has a really good academic program, and it was very different from my old school. In English, we read a book called Just Mercy, I felt so connected to the book that it makes me want to go further with it. So now when I go to Pomfret, I want to focus more on that and maybe take a course or two related to that. It made me crave learning more.

Being exposed to so many different cultures has had a huge impact on me. I was excited when I heard all these things, like, it's so different from what I'm used to. Now that I've come here, I've learned to like a lot of different things, like I've tried separate foods, and I've learned some different words in different languages. I feel like it's expanded me as a person, and while it was hard for me at first, it built a lot of really good habits that I honestly needed, even though they weren't my favorite in the beginning. I'm very glad to have them now, and going into high school, I feel so much more prepared.

I've grown in so many aspects. I'd say in sports and academics, just socially, and there was no one specific thing. It's so hard to label it because every part of me has grown.

Discovering New Passions

Interviewer: What was something new that you tried?  

Sienna: Fencing was a sport I never even considered trying. But when I was given the opportunity and the resources, I actually found that I really, really enjoyed it. And before Rectory, it was like an abstract thought, like I never do that. It was really hard to pick electives, actually, because they have such a wide range. So my first one I decided to take was public speaking. And that was a little bit scary to approach because I, I had never done public speaking before

I met lots of new people, and I kind of developed my skills not only to develop public speaking, but also writing. And I tried a very different one that I never thought I would have taken. It was hydroponics. It was so much fun.

Belonging Leads to Tremendous Growth

Interviewer: How have you changed since coming to Rectory?

Sienna: I've grown in so many aspects. I'd say in sports and academics, just socially, and there was no one specific thing. It's so hard to label it because every part of me has grown. A huge moment for me, one that I'll always remember, was my first day of school.

When I first walked in, I immediately got a welcome, and just throughout that whole day, anywhere, I walked in the hallway, I knew nobody. And yet everybody always said, welcome to me, and it made me feel like I wasn't an outsider, like, everybody viewed me the same as everybody else.

It made me feel so much less awkward. And just from that first day, I felt like I was a part of it. Now that I know what it's like to be a new kid, I don't really have those fears anymore. I'm so ready for high school. I want to jump into it, like, right now!

Her Biggest Supporters

Interviewer: What did this opportunity mean to you and your family? 

Sienna: My parents supported me and this decision has meant the world for me. It's quite literally changed my life. It's changed the way I think. What I know, the path I'm going to take. It's so hard to phrase. It's just it's changed me in every way, shape or form. So I, I just want to say, I would just say thank you to them for everything.