The Bishop Strachan School NOTABLE ALUMNI

When you go to BSS, you have this incredible alumni network, and so I feel like there’s always a bond—like, ‘Oh, you went to BSS, I went to BSS too.’ And the BSS alumni—who you would call ’Old Girls’—are everywhere in the world, and so you run into folks pretty frequently, actually. It’s really cool to have that support network and to have a network of Old Girls where you have that common bond.

Having left BSS, I think that I'm so grateful for the alumni network that I have now that I never thought about what I was actually at the school. Having exited the school now, there have been so many situations where either I've reached out to an old girl and they've been so helpful to me, or just in passing, I'll meet somebody who, by accident, also went to BSS. And it's such a comforting feeling because you have so much in common… I'm so thankful and grateful to have that support system as well.

What I appreciated most about BSS was the real sense of community that the school had. The student body was so supportive, but also the teachers were so supportive. I still have so many friends to this day from BSS, and we actually have my group of friends. We still do a book club, and we meet monthly to chat about that and just update each other on our lives. And everybody is scattered across Canada and even the US. It's such a close-knit community. And those bonds have carried through, even though I graduated quite a few years ago now. 

There is a strong community at BSS. I am still friends with many of my high school friends and am involved actively with the schools alumnae association. The schools makes it easy to get involved as a student or graduate by providing so many different opportunities. I was most involved with the arts community while a student and so can speak primarily to that. Students are encouraged to take risks, try new things, etc. before they move onto the next stage in education. The class are not traditional or boring. The teachers are also superb in the arts courses the school offers. I think the girls are fortunate.

Even today, if my daughter hears even a small mention of BSS, she gets all excited and thrilled. She cannot stop talking about it. She goes to university now, but she still wants to wear her BSS hoodie, her BSS track pants, and carry her BSS bag. She says that's the best part of her life. She keeps on telling her elder sister, "I wish I had come here earlier." She loves being a part of the BSS community, whether as a student or an alumna. Recently, she was talking to a family friend in India who wanted their daughters to study here, and her enthusiasm for the school was clear.

I feel so proud to have said that I went to BSS. I feel so proud to be able to say I work at BSS still. I feel so proud to be able to say that my daughter goes to BSS.

I think one of the biggest things about BSS that I remember that I felt differentiated it was almost the history of it. We had so many traditions that were carried on. And whenever old girls would come and chat with the school, they would always ask, ‘Oh, do you still do this? Do you still do that?’ And I think that having that, again, almost sense of community, you have this huge history of the school, and you're able to look back and say, I was a part of that. One of the things that they always do is the Nativity play. It's around Christmas time, and I was in the choir, and the choir sings, and we sit in the chapel balcony, and then below people are acting out the Nativity scene. And it is such a tradition.

The sense of belonging and attachment to BSS continues long after graduation. Alumni engagement has grown in recent years, with mentorship programs, panels, and networking opportunities that connect current students and graduates socially and academically.

I think that the BSS alumni community has only improved. The school does a great job engaging its alumni network - and I think it is so wonderful that alumni volunteer their time to speak to students about their career choices and university experiences. My parents were invested in the school and often attended my athletic games and my drama class performances. I have kept up with many friends from BSS, and a few teachers who have been excellent mentors to me. I am grateful for this network as it feels both inclusive and wide-reaching. When I was a Master's student at the LSE in England, BSS organized an alumni event there. It was so nice to reconnect and see other BSSers in the UK and I felt very lucky to be a part of a community that had such big international reach!