Boarding Student Life at SJA
Maxim Schnell ’21
Freiburg, Germany
Hello! My name is Maxim Schnell and I’m a German boarding student. I got the amazing chance to study at St. Johnsbury Academy, and while I was there, I discovered an international community. The most fun part of the school year is dorm life. It is a diverse collection of people of different origins, cultures, and communities from over 30 countries. In a weekly dorm meeting, we discuss problems and ideas, clean the dorm all together and plan dorm trips on the weekend. Everybody cares for each other which really helps you not think of back home. One of my favorite parts of dorm life was ResFest. This celebration happens once a year and is a great opportunity for each dorm to show their strength and team spirit and compete in fun activities against other dorms. The boarding student program at the Academy is a great family and replaces life at home. During my one year stay at St. Johnsbury Academy, I found close friends from all over the world, discovered this unique sense of family and an amazing school spirit. I’m confident that my friendships will hold forever and that we all meet together soon! I want to thank all of my friends, family, faculty and staff, and especially my parents to allow me to come to St. Johnsbury Academy and make it the greatest year of my life! Thank you.