Migyu Kim ’25, Avery Davis ’25, Lauren Montgomery ’25, Marcela Hernandez ’25, Jac Gordon ’25, and Ella Kowal ’25 have lived in Samaritan House this school year, representing Abbot Cluster.
Ten Senior girls live in Smith House in Flagstaff this school year.
“There were a couple people I didn’t really know too well at first, but over the past six months or so, I have gotten to know them pretty well. I would say we are all pretty good friends… [Some advice I have] is just be open-minded, try to be flexible. Ultimately you all are living together and in really close quarters, so you just want to keep an open mind to what other people may prefer. But make sure to let your voice be heard as well. Stand up for yourself and share your thoughts, because ultimately the people you are stacking with should be people who care about you.”
Ruby Kokinos ’26 living in Whitney House this year and next year.
“I love the homey feel of the stack as opposed to a big dorm where you might not know everyone. There’s a lot more compromise and fun things you can do with the space because it’s shared amongst people who all chose to be together. For example, we use the common room to play games at night and have movie nights, which is something we might not be able to do in a bigger dorm. It allows people to build the community they want around themselves, which I think makes people more eager to participate in the larger community as well, within the cluster and the school.”
Alex Giarnese ’25 living in Pemberton Cottage this year.
“Stacks simply are just a lot more organized and cleaner and a little bit quieter than bigger dorms, which is really nice, especially for Senior year when you’re really busy doing a lot of work and you sometimes just need a place to go back to that’s calm and peaceful. One thing I really love that our dorm does is our family dinners. Our house counselor cooks the nine of us a dinner on Sunday [once a month] and we all sit and talk about our weeks, our months, [and] we talk about things going on on campus and we have really good food, and it’s just a really nice tradition that Dr. Denby has set up for us, which has just been so much fun.”
“My stackmates are friends that I’m very close to and are responsible people who I believe hold similar living values as me. I believe that as a group, we shouldn’t encounter many issues that I’ve faced in larger dorms. The biggest challenge of joining a stack would be finding a reliable and cohesive group of people to stack with, and I’d say that with our group we are fortunate to have connections amongst each other and a strong sense of mutual trust. For people applying to stacks next year, I’d say to focus especially on who you’d like to stack with, and to give it a shot, because there’s no harm in trying. Good luck to all who would hope to apply!”
