Interview with The Country Day School Alum, Stacey Speranza

One of the things I appreciate the most about CDS, as I reflect back, is just the number of opportunities there are to be involved. I was involved in sport, in student government, in DECA and HOSA, and I explored my passion for entrepreneurship. I was able to always practice my public speaking skills, and be in front of the school. Anything I wanted to explore in high school, CDS definitely gave me the opportunity to do so. 

I also appreciated that if I ever had new ideas of ways that I wanted to be involved, the school was always open to that and always open to adding new events or bringing in new student organizations. Looking back, I'm really grateful that I had those opportunities, and I think they really helped shape me into who I am today, especially going into university.

A great thing about the Country Day School is that it has a very tight-knit community, compared to some of the other schools I attended. From the moment you step on campus, to the moment you wait for graduation, there are so many touch points with the school and opportunities to get to know the community, even the parent community, the supporters of the school, and the alumni community, which is awesome. I think the tight-knit community is something that really differentiates it more than the schools that I had attended. It makes it so easy to connect with one another because it's just such a really friendly and welcoming environment. 

If the school were a person, its personality would be energetic. You will get that energy on campus, from the arts program to the sports. I’d also say it’s bubbly, very charismatic. 

One thing that connects everyone in the student body is just that you're allowed and encouraged to be yourself and there are different activities and events that suit every kid’s needs and personality. I think the fact that everyone is allowed to be their individual self and finds a place at Country Day is something that brings everyone together and it's something that's celebrated.

They definitely want to celebrate that everyone comes from different backgrounds and has different experiences and different strengths and talents. I think the school does a really, really great job of showcasing that through their various programs and activities.

I think that Education with Balance, which is the school’s main slogan, definitely rings true. I think that's something that brings everyone together, just the fact that everyone is allowed to be themselves and everyone is celebrated. Everything they do, whether it is through academics, the math challenges they host, the robotics competitions, or whether it is through athletics or the theater, they really value having balance with your education.

We have assemblies every Thursday in the Senior School, and student accomplishments, in the school or outside of the school, are usually celebrated or mentioned there. There's always, even in the alumni community, they're always sharing different accomplishments and different milestones that alumni reach.

CDS wants to make sure you have the tools in your toolkit, and the support, to be able to overcome any challenge you face. Obviously, the world is really big and there's a lot of challenges you'll face after high school. But CDS really wants to set you up for success and give you a lot of resources and tools to be able to overcome the challenges you face.

I think the social aspect of school life and the friendships were something that was really strong at CDS. They give you a ton of support and resources to be able to make those friendships and connections. I started in Grade 9, and I was a bit worried that it would be a bit harder to make friends, but that was definitely very far from the truth. There were quite a few other new Grade 9 students when I started, and everyone was very friendly, very open to meeting new people, making new friends. That's something about Country Day that I really appreciated. They make you feel very welcome when you first get there.