Unbreakable Bonds

FROM SHARING A ROOM TO SHARING THEIR LIVES: Three Pairs of Hun Alumnae Keep Friendship Thriving Long After Graduation

When you enter a new school as a boarding student and you are assigned a complete stranger as a roommate, it usually goes one of two ways. The pair could learn that they aren’t quite compatible as roommates and decide to part ways the following year, or they could win the roommate lottery and discover that being roommates creates a lifelong bond. For these Hun alumnae, it was the latter.

Bethany Loffredo, dean of students and dorm parent, notes that one of the greatest pleasures of being a dorm parent is being able to watch resident students form those relationships:, “At the end of the school day, our day students go home and process their days, share good news, or talk about something funny that happened in class with their parents and siblings; our resident students do all of those things with one another, and inevitably, they are strongly connected to one another as a result. It makes being a dorm parent especially rewarding knowing that we help cultivate those long-lasting friendships.”

Here are a few of our favorite successful pairings turned friends forever:

LAURA KIM ’19 and CJ MOZEIKA ’19

While attending boarding school comes with a lot of freedom and fun, it also comes with a lot of trust and responsibility. A successful experience is dependent upon a boarder's ability to be a good roommate. Boarders really have to learn how to build relationships when they’re at their most vulnerable (away from home and sharing personal space with a stranger). The experience includes learning how to be thoughtful and considerate, but also how to support each other through tough days and celebrate each other’s happiness. It means seeing your roommate in every light.

For Laura Kim ’19 and CJ Mozeika ’19, their boarding experience brought them all of those things, and more. From their late night talks in the kitchen of Carter Hall eating Ben & Jerry’s to the memories they made participating in Resident Life weekend activities, they shared all the ups and downs of everyday life and formed an indelible bond in the process. To this day, the two are still there for one another through every phase of life.

“CJ and I did absolutely everything together,” Ms. Kim says. “Weekend brunch together was a must, we studied together, we did weekend activities, and we even brushed our teeth together every night. You don’t realize how much living with someone really bonds you to that person; you see all sides of them and they see all sides of you. There is a lot of trust there.”

For Ms. Mozeika, her time spent as a boarder at Hun was the first time she was away from home for an extended period of time. She notes that the friends she made through boarding became her daily support system, “Laura was always there for me when I needed her,” she says. “Whether it was to eat a pint of ice cream and laugh or to be comforted because I was homesick, through every challenge and every celebration, she was always there to give me advice and a hug.”

And Ms. Kim concurs, “I was so lucky to have my best friends live so close to me,” she says. “When I was sad, someone was there to comfort me, and when I was happy, someone was there to celebrate. My deepest friendships are from the boarding community.”

Several years later and living in two different states, Ms. Kim and Ms. Mozeika are still able to find those moments to connect with one another, despite the distance. They both give kudos to technology for the ability to keep them in touch.

“We’ll call or text just to chat, check in with each other, and always keep one another updated on our lives,” Ms. Mozeika says. “Despite not living in the same hallway anymore, I know that I can always count on Laura to answer my call to give me advice or make me laugh. No matter how far apart we are or how long it’s been, it’s always like nothing has changed.”

RAKIYAH WHITE ’13 and JANINE CADET ’13

When you have been best friends since elementary school, being roommates at a boarding school sounds like a dream come true— at least that was the case for Rakiyah White ’13 and Janine Cadet ’13. For a majority of their young adult lives, these two have been inseparable; their friendship has stood the test of time, distance, and a pandemic. They credit the strength of their friendship to their four years spent as boarders at The Hun School.

“We attended elementary and middle school together prior to attending Hun and we were actually randomly paired together as roommates our freshman year,” Ms. Cadet says. “We lived in Carter Hall our first three years and spent our senior year in Russell Hall together.”

Outside of the Resident Life community, they always tried to schedule their classes together, participated in track and field together, and always made it a priority to have their meals together.

Ms. White jokes, “We were pretty much always seen together. Sure, we had different friends and activities but when you are best friends, there is no separation.”

Ms. Cadet even recalls redesigning their dorm room their junior year to create one shared space: “As if we weren’t close enough, we ended up pushing our beds together to create one giant bed, which made every night feel like a sleepover with your best friend.”

Today, although the two live on opposite coasts, they still make a conscious effort to put their friendship first, and they continue to remain the closest of friends.

Ms. Cadet notes that the two have celebrated almost all of their milestones together since graduating from Hun, either in person or virtually.

“Even though we went to college in two different states, we made sure to always set aside time to visit each other once a year at our respective schools,” she says. “We always made plans during our holiday breaks. Our most recent milestones include Rakiyah attending my going-away party before I moved to Los Angeles for medical school and me attending Rakiyah’s baby shower.”

Ms. White adds, “Janine was one of the few people who came to my very intimate quarantine baby shower last year and since she is the future Dr. Cadet, we even spoke on the phone while I was at the hospital before going into labor with my son.”

As the two reflect on their friendship over the years, they both share the same sentiment—that they are forever grateful they were able to live together throughout their high school years. They also encourage current boarding students to seize every opportunity they have with one another to make the best memories.

“Snowball fights on the Mall, Resident Life weekend activities, late nights spent with other boarders...the memories you make at Hun will last you a lifetime. Enjoy the opportunity to live and learn from one another.” Ms. Cadet says.

ERICA BROWN ’14 and COURTNEY CALDWELL ’14

Erica Brown ’14 joined the boarding community at The Hun School her junior year. She met fellow junior and four-year boarder, Courtney Caldwell ’14, in Carter Hall during the first week.

“My first couple of weeks at Hun I fell asleep in her bed almost every night and I barely even knew her,” Ms. Brown jokes. “We really hit it off immediately and that was only the beginning for us.”

The pair spent their last two years at The Hun School doing nearly everything together, from sports and classes to Resident Life activitiesand extracurriculars. “Junior year we both played basketball in the winter, and track in the spring. We took classes together, did almost every weekend Resident Life activity together, and in our free time, we applied to be proctors our senior year, and tour guides.”

Ms. Brown notes that looking back on her time at Hun, she finds it crazy to believe that she and Ms. Caldwell were only roommates for one year and she attributes their successful friendship to the memories made in those two short years.

“We have pretty different personalities and our friendship worked from the beginning because of it,” she says. “Living together was the easiest thing ever. Our friendship is so strong today so many years later because we spent such crucial years living together as teenagers. Even at such a young age, we went through so many big moments together like getting our licenses, college acceptances, and everything in between.”

Post high school, their friendship continues to grow and strengthen each day, and any chance they get together, they find themselves reminiscing about high school.

“Whether it was going off to college, graduating college, figuring out our careers, or dating advice, we have always leaned on each other, and we still do,” she says. “When we aren’t spending hours on FaceTime together reminiscing about high school we are finding time to come back and visit Hun together.”

As Ms. Brown reflects on her few short years at The Hun School, her advice for current boarding students is simple: leave your room. “I know it’s so much easier to just hang out in your dorm room but trust me when I say, leave your room as much as possible and do every Resident Life activity you can,” she says. “Even if you don’t want to, the memories will all be worth it. Being a boarder at Hun is a language no one understands and the experiences are something only a handful of us can wrap our minds around. These moments right now will make for great stories in the future.”