Former Head Boarder reflects on life as a boarder on her 10-year anniversary

I am Bonnie and I was a boarder in 2009-2013. I could not believe it was almost 10 years ago since I first joined St. Mary’s and its boarding community.

Living away from my parents and family from a young age could sound scary and daunting, but at St. Mary’s I felt the warmth from Senior girls and peers, as well as teachers and staff members. There I made some of the most invaluable friendships who I still have contact with even after all these years, they have been my greatest mental support and we have been through so many things together. I also kept in touch with the boarding staff, and while I was still in the UK studying my Bachelor’s degree, every visit back to the boarding house is like going back to my comfort zone, my second home and they would welcome me with the biggest smile and hug.

Living at St. Mary’s is not just an opportunity to learn to be independent, but also a place to experience and learn about different cultures as boarders come from all different parts of the world and this really led to a wide exposure of people from different race and nationalities, all of these helps contribute to interpersonal skills and social networking skills.

Being in such a supportive environment, I became more confident and have developed a huge sense of belonging to the boarding community. I eventually became the Deputy House Captain in Lower Sixth and was Head Boarder in the Upper Sixth. These experiences have nurtured my leadership skills. Acquiring that responsibility to represent the boarding community, I played a big role bridging the needs and demands from the students and the staff.

Once a Head Boarder, forever a Head Boarder. This is almost some kind of a mutual motto passed down from senior years, and I along with other Head Boarders were keen to keep this community going despite being away from St. Mary’s and from the UK. So, We decided to initiate an alumnae group back in Hong Kong three years ago where we organise regular meetups to keep the community bonded.

All in all, I think that boarding really played an important part in my life, it is a place where I spent a quarter of my life in, a place where I grew up and was nurtured and matured into who I am now. Also, without doubt it is a nostalgic place which I call it my second home and a place that will always be missed.