As students settle into a new school year, decorating dorms serves as an effective way to showcase their personalities, interests, and express their creativity. From memorabilia gifted by family and friends to original art pieces, these students personalized their spaces to make Andover a home away from home.
Ashiq Kibria ’26
“My favorite piece of decoration in my room is a painting I did for a program. It’s just a silhouette of light and stuff like that; the mood I was going for was just very cute. I wanted to have string lights up and have soft lighting and multiple paintings, this and that along with artwork. For my personality, I see that it is expressed in the pieces of art that I made and how I hung them up in my own room, along with different aspects, such as photos of some of my friends and other things like that and special memorabilia I’ve collected throughout the years.”
Eleanor Tong ’24
“My room is very pink; I love the color pink. It’s a combination of super girly, but there are a lot of plants, I like splashes of green. I have a lot of flower imagery. I’m a very clean person, but the walls are kind of messy and I like that. I can come in here, and I’m not stressed, but I’m not bored [either]. I love this one lamp I have. It was a Christmas present from my little brother and it’s just so pretty… I think I’m a very bubbly and outgoing person, [and] I think my room is the same way. I’ve got all my favorite things in one place, and they’re all on display because I just like other people to see them… It’s my creativity and my version of an aesthetic.”
Frank Hu ’26
“I live in a three room double and my roommate is from Texas, and he has a big Texas flag on our wall. I love it. We both play sports, I play hockey and he plays lacrosse so we both have sports equipment. We didn’t really have a theme in mind, but we have some decor and a nice rug.”
Ethan Oder ’25
“I wanted my room to have a darker mood and the general vibe I was trying to go for was a really cool grandma, so I have a lot of older furniture, darker colors mixed with a bunch of beanbags and just different movies and music that are a lot more current. I like the records hanging at the top of my room… I like being in a little bit more of a relaxed and calm environment and then when I’m seeing things around me that I’m interested in it makes me [want] to be in the space more, and I feel happier just doing any basic thing like homework or just sitting there.”
