still will make it all the way through the boot camp. Those who do are well prepared for the demands of high school and living a life of leadership. His PREP 9 training helped Miller survive the entry to Exeter with its demanding work load — a transition that can be difficult for many entering preps. While his firstterm grades were admittedly a mixed bag (with an easy A in math and a hard-earned C in Chinese), he feels he had an advantage over those peers who hadn’t yet developed a strong work ethic or learned “how to push themselves to the limit.” Armed with the knowledge he’d gained from PREP 9 that “success comes from hard work,” Miller kept working to become proficient in the new and difficult language, and he fell in love with it in the process. Last summer, sponsored by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, he spent four weeks traveling and studying in China as part of an intensive cultural and language immersion program. “I was able to get around by train and hold conversations, despite what a hard time I had initially with Chinese class,” he says with a note of delight. Jena Yun ’17, another Jack Kent Cooke scholar, was assigned an educational adviser in eighth grade who visited her at home in Fresh Meadows, a neighborhood in Queens, New York, where she and her sister attended a public middle school.
During the high school selection process, Yun’s adviser helped her select schools that would be a good fit and set regular deadlines for her to meet. “I don’t have the same guidance from my family and sister here,” says Yun. “So, paving your own way, that’s part of the reason I came ... but it can also be challenging.” Now that Yun is here, she talks to her adviser at least once a month to set up goals and form an independent learning plan. By supplementing what the prep programs provide and reaching out to include students who are not affiliated with them, the Offices of Multicultural Affairs and Financial Aid work to widen the web of support for underrepresented students. Beyond providing a safe place for students to voice their concerns and raising cultural awareness among the larger student body, they can also use discretionary funds to finance sports equipment, formal attire, college visits or visits from family when costs are prohibitive. “We look at students with a cultural lens and try to give them what they need to feel a sense of ownership and belonging at Exeter,” says Salcedo. Sarah Hardcastle ’19, who like D’Amico attended Summer School orientation with E3, says the close bonds she formed over the summer gave her more confidence when transitioning into the regular session. “Because we spent so much time together, we became a tight-knit group,” she says. In addition to all of the practical help E3 has given her (like “getting the gist of Harkness” and getting to know campus), those friendships have been a source of strength. Having such close ties already —Jena Yun ’17 when the school year began “helped me feel more comfortable approaching other people as well,” she says.
“PAVING YOUR OWN WAY, THAT’S PART OF THE REASON I CAME... .”
SPARKING A DESIRE TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Prep Malobika Syed’s speech is peppered with maxims and inspirational quotes, expressed with irresistible enthusiasm. Wearing an Exeter sweatshirt, with her hair in a messy side braid, she waves her hands and speaks about her passion for social and racial justice. Syed is the youngest of four kids, all of whom went from their public elementary school in the Bronx to independent boarding schools in
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