THE Boarding school experience
Kayla Scharf ’20
Hometown: Aix-en-Provence, France
My name is Kayla Scharf, and I am a senior boarding student at St. Johnsbury Academy. A pretty significant and special part of my life at school is the opportunity I have to give tours as an Admissions Ambassador. I often get asked what my favorite part about attending SJA is, and honestly, I never know where to start answering the question since I love so many things about the school.
In my (almost) three years at this school, I have learned so much about myself and have really flourished. The unconditional support from the proctors and dorm community has certainly contributed to my success. When I first started at the Academy as a sophomore, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was drawn to SJA because of the amazing sense of community that I had seen through countless videos, interaction with current students, and emails from the Admissions staff and teachers. I was eager to see this school in person, and once I did, I fell in love right away.
I’ll admit, I was nervous about living with a bunch of other high school girls at first, and I was especially nervous about how life with a roommate would turn out, but I instantly felt comfortable and at home in Sheepcote. I was welcomed with so many smiles and excited people that I felt like I was in a place where I belonged right away! My relationships with my proctors and my friends in the dorm have just gotten stronger every year, and Sheepcote will always be a place I feel like I can be myself 100%. I have never met more caring people in my life than I met at SJA, no matter if they were students or teachers or proctors, and I am extremely grateful to have had three amazing years at a school that encouraged me to be myself and work hard. And the best part of it all is that I’ll always have amazing life-long friends by my side.