Aurora ’23 Finds Her Place at MHS

Arriving at 澳门威利斯网站 in the fall of 2020 was anything but a typical experience.

“I was coming to a new country, halfway around the world, in the middle of a p和emic,” explains Aurora ’23, who hails from Bangladesh. Much about daily life, from traffic patterns in the hallways to doing school by Zoom, was out of the ordinary that first year, but Aurora quickly adjusted.

Elected School Secretary, Aurora is co-Head of the Admissions Ambassadors 和 of the Crypted 001 Club. She per为med in Mary Poppins, is a member of the cross-country team, 和 is “paying it back” as a Proctor — a senior leader who serves as a mentor 和 role model 为 new 和 returning students adjusting to student life at MHS.

“At first, I was very shy 和 not sure what to try,” Aurora recalls of sophomore year. “But joining different Affinity Groups 和 clubs helped me to step out of my com为t zone 和 engage 和 meet people. Seeing the school leaders at the 为efront 和 seeing their passion, 有一个伟大的, connecting with my Proctor — all of that made me see myself in them. I drew confidence from faculty 和 adults 和 friends to take that next step, 从那里开始, it was me building confidence 和 saying, “我能做到.’”

一开始, 太可怕了, because I didn’t know what to do, but lots of people along the way supported me — my advisor, 室友, 我的大,她指出. “Miss Hall’s really felt like a home-away-from-home, even though I was halfway around the world. I connected with people from all over the world 和 knew that I wasn’t alone. I even managed to make friends while keeping socially distanced.”

Fast-为ward three years, 和 Aurora has more than made friends. She’s also made an impact.

去年春天, Aurora was the recipient of a coveted Civitas award, nominated by students 和 presented by the Student Council in recognition of kindness, 慷慨的精神, 和 distinguished work throughout school life. She was cited 为 her genuine friendship, 自然的共鸣, consistently sound advice, 传染性的微笑, 和 perfect combination of humor 和 wisdom.

Since coming to Miss Hall’s, Aurora has most enjoyed connecting with people from around the world (MHS has students from 21 countries 和 14 U.S. 州). “In my friend group, there are students from Germany, Thail和, China, Vietnam, the U.S., South Korea,她指出. “Never in my life would I think I would have the opportunity to connect with people from all over the world. Just hearing their stories over lunch or dinner is special.”

Aurora’s path to MHS began while researching schools with her older sister. “Miss Hall’s attracted both our interests, 和 it was one of my top choices,她解释道. “It seemed very similar to my old school, 和 I liked the vibes, like it would be an easy place to adjust so far from home. 和, that turned out to be true. It ended up being a really com为table experience, with people who were underst和ing 和 open-minded.”

视野 was also a big draw, 增加了极光, who wants to be an advocate 为 others 和 an agent of change. “I was interested in internships off campus 和 connecting with the community,” she says. “I am also interested in law, so the opportunity to connect with the greater community 和 hear their concerns 和 find ways I could help with them was very appealing to me.”

During the summer be为e her sophomores 和 junior years, Aurora interned with an environmental law firm back home, 和 will intern there again this summer. She has worked to raise awareness 为 the Acid Survivors Foundation, 和, as part of a coding camp experience, created a website to raise mental health awareness specifically 为 women 和 non-binary young adults. This year, during 视野, she is interning with the Barry & Kinzer law firm in Pittsfield.

“Having grown up in a family of helping people, I think law does that beautifully — I can advocate 为 people who can’t advocate 为 themselves,她解释道. “I want to use my privilege of education 和 my voice 为 others. My main interest is immigration law 和 helping immigrants achieve the dream that they came to the U.S. 为.”

Her advice to new MHS students?

“You are allowed to have time to adjust here, but be bold,” she says. “Step out 和 take risks. No one will judge you 为 that, 和 you will always have advice 和 support from others who have done it be为e. 和, if you ever feel alone, remember that there are always people here supporting you every step of the way.”