Henry Werner ’30 (far left), Genie Han ’27 (center left), Carina Paik ’28 (center
right), and Assistant Dean of Students Aya Murata (far right) converse over supper.
Students and faculty gathered in Upper Left of Paresky Commons to engage in Andover’s first-ever Community Supper. Hosted by Student Council and Student Body Co-Presidents David Siahaan ’27 and Minnie Kim ’27, the event intended to build community through a semi-formal environment and randomly assigned seating for students and faculty.
Reflecting on his and Kim’s presidential campaign, Siahaan noted strengthening the Andover community as an objective central to their initiatives. He explained how their research into other preparatory schools like Deerfield Academy and Choate Rosemary Hall motivated the idea of a community supper as part of their campaign.
“Our platform [last year] really centered around building a series of community events. Minnie and I thought that we wanted to bring some spirit back to Andover. So we looked around us to different schools and other places… [that also have] similar kinds of community supper programs,” said Siahaan. “It was something that was always kind of in the cards, but we never really could figure out. So, when we decided to run together, that was something that we really wanted to get done.”
Kim elaborated on the value of communal dining in cultivating connection between students in different grades.
“As much as I love having a large school, it can be quite tough to build connections, inter-grade wise… Food is one of the biggest connectors, and so that’s why, you know, we can have class meetings, we can have All-School Meetings, but in comparison to sharing [an] intimate meal with people you’ve never met before, that’s what really brings people together,” said Kim.
The menu for the dinner originally included salads, pasta, and steak, though students came to find out that the steak had been replaced with salmon. Dina Namjoo ’28 commented on this change.
“The one thing that was different was they didn’t have the steak, which is a little bit upsetting. So the one thing that I wasn’t really expecting was the salmon. I think it was [replaced] for the steak, which is upsetting” said Namjoo.
On the other hand, Namjoo appreciated the format of the dinner as it made it easier for her to connect with more people she hadn’t known as well.
“I understand where [Kim and Siahaan are] coming from. Sometimes it’s hard to get to know people, especially, even if it’s in the middle of the year, or you’ve been at the school for more than your freshman year. It’s just nice to sit down on a table with people you really don’t know, get to know them and just make some natural conversation,” said Namjoo.
An absence of variety in food options during the dinner also impacted students with dietary restrictions, including Anastasie Sycheva ’29.
“We went to go get food, which was pretty good… [but] what I would change is that there weren’t that many food options. I personally have dietary restrictions, and there weren’t too many options for me, at least, that were sufficient for nutrition” said Sycheva.
Drawing from her own experiences with boarding schools, Aya Murata, Assistant Dean of Students, reflected on the importance of navigating discomfort and uncertainty to build relationships with peers.
“I’m always thinking about how we can cross-pollinate in ways that give students opportunities to build connections, to meet new people… Everybody is going to maybe be a little bit uncomfortable because they’re sitting with people that they might not know, but now you know a few more people that you’re going to say hello to on the path,” said Murata.
Celeste Hung ’30 shared her experience from the dinner, noting the advice and wisdom she received from others at her table.
“The upperclassmen reflected back what they learned through their time here at Andover and the question was then flipped for us juniors [being,] ‘What are you hoping to achieve in your four years here?’ Being able to listen to all these seniors and upperclassmen reflect on their time here… gave me some insight on what I should do differently or what I should expect or even just, what not to expect, and [to] just put myself out there. That was very, very cool,” said Hung.
Catherine Carter, Instructor in Latin and an attendee, highlighted the supper as an opportunity to connect with students outside of their academic commitments and encouraged its continuation.
“I liked talking to students and hearing about their experiences, but not in the context of a classroom or an advising meeting. I liked that it was a diverse group of kids from all corners of campus… It sounds like there was a lot of demand [to attend], and if students are really interested in doing it and if the school is willing to support it, it’s a great opportunity,” said Carter.
Raynard Kington, Head of School, expressed his takeaways from the event. Reflecting on the high level of engagement, he noted the value of diversifying Andover’s approach to building community.
“There were far more students than we had positions for. That suggests there’s a real desire to have lots of different ways of building community. For some people, munches work great. For other students, having these types of dinners works better. So we just have to look at the whole portfolio of things that we do to build community and allow enough opportunities so every student can figure out a way they feel comfortable with, trying as much as possible to have some things like this,” said Kington.
