All In The Campaign for Blair Academy 2018-2025
The Legacy of International Students at Blair
Adele Starrs

They have come from all corners of the globe. Dating back to the nineteenth century, Blair has welcomed international students from all over the world, and this rich legacy has profoundly shaped the School’s community, culture and educational philosophy. Today, international students comprise 21 percent of Blair’s population, representing 30 nations, and bring a wealth of diverse perspectives and experiences that enrich our institution.

Historical Roots
Blair’s tradition of welcoming international students began in the School’s early years. In the closing decade of the nineteenth century, the Blair Presbyterial Academy Catalogue recorded international students from over a dozen diverse locales, including Jalandhar City in northern India, Mérida in Mexico’s Yucatán state and Jérémie in Haiti. According to Blair’s library assistant Kate Skeffington, “​​Most, if not all, of the international students were the children of Presbyterian missionaries or the children of friends and acquaintances of those missionaries. The nineteenth-century Protestant Mission Movement was well underway,” Mrs. Skeffington explains, “and Presbyterians started sending people out into the world to spread the Gospel as early as 1837.” Many of these students braved long journeys and cultural adjustments to seek an exceptional education at Blair, setting a precedent for generations to come.

Although there are few detailed records, some early accounts highlight an international presence at Blair. For instance, in 1917, first-year student Ching Shan Meng stepped off a train in Blairstown for the first time. He had endured a grueling six-week journey of travel by ship and train, seasick for much of the time. His travels took him from Peking, China, to Japan and then Honolulu, Hawaii, and on to the West Coast before he finally boarded a train for the 3,400-mile journey across the United States. After 40 days, he arrived at his new home on the hilltop. “Mungie,” as his friends soon came to call him, settled in and become a star on Blair’s tennis team, well-liked by his classmates. Before he graduated and went on to continue his education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mungie wrote an essay for The Blair Breeze in which he described why he came to the United States for an education: 

“I attended my school in Tientsin, Chili Province, North China, where I live. My school belongs to the London  Mission and was founded in 1901. There are six hundred boys in the school. The arrangements and regulations are just about the same as those here, but their standards are lower than those in the United States.That is why I came here to study.”

Supporting Cultural Enrichment
Over time, the influx of international students, with their unique traditions, languages and viewpoints, has fostered a rich cultural exchange at Blair. Associate Head of School Ryan M. Pagotto ’97, who oversees student life at Blair and has been a faculty member for over two decades, notes that the move to a boarding school is a time of transition for all students, regardless of their home origins, but international students face additional hurdles. They must navigate long-term issues, such as learning a different language, absorbing American culture and deciphering the Blair lexicon of unique phrases, such as what “going to the Can” means. There are short-term challenges to contend with as well. “When most students come back from a break, they are well-rested and ready to jump back into school,” Mr. Pagotto explains. “International students are often quietly managing the effects of jet lag,” he says. 

To support international students and encourage the sharing of their experiences and cultures, Blair has introduced a variety of school traditions over time. Recognizing that the international student body has its own specific needs, particularly at the beginning of each school year, the School began inviting international students to arrive several days before others and gave them a specific orientation program to help them with the early adjustment to their new environment. Each school year begins with students marching in procession at Convocation, proudly carrying flags from around the world to symbolize Blair’s global community. The end-of-year Underclass Assembly features a prize dedicated to outstanding international student achievement. The annual international festival, cultural nights, global cuisine cooking events and food truck festivals provide regular platforms for teachers and students to share their heritage with one another.


Arriving at Blair in 1967

While tailored programming and cultural events do help ease the transition for some, many international alumni most vividly remember the people—the faculty, staff and friends at Blair—who supported and helped them adjust to the rhythms of life in a new country. Henry van der Kwast ’68 recalls arriving on the hilltop in 1967 amid turbulent anti-war demonstrations dominating the national news. Coming from the island of Curacao, with a Dutch father and a mother of Caribbean heritage, Henry learned about Blair from relatives in New York. Attracted by the School’s academic excellence, Henry hoped to study hard and improve his test scores. While he had visited the United States many times before, Henry found himself among just a few dozen international students and feeling homesick when he first arrived. He fondly remembers that feeling beginning to wane when he was invited to Thanksgiving at a fellow student’s home. Faculty also joined classmates in being welcoming. “Teacher Jim Carhart was helpful,” Henry recalls, “and [Assistant Headmaster] Fernando Marcial [’39] was always on the ball. He allowed me to sit at his table at lunch and was always interested in my development and how I was doing.” 

Despite the cultural adjustment, Henry quickly found his footing in the community—though not literally. One of Henry’s early Blair memories was encountering ice for the first time. Though he had seen snow before, tropical Curacao is sunny and warm year-round, and Henry hadn’t seen black ice. He slipped and ended up spending a night or two in the infirmary with a black-and-blue eye, which he recalls with a chuckle. The setback didn’t hold Henry back for long. “Blair was very strong in sports,” he remembers. Through football, tennis and varsity running, Henry built lasting friendships, many of which he still maintains more than 50 years later. “Blair was very conducive to that,” he recalls, “I had Jonathan Slaff [’68], and people not even in my dorm. We became very friendly. Their parents became instrumental in caring for me and other international students. I was always invited to join them for tea or coffee when they came to visit. I never felt left out.”

Many of the challenges that Henry experienced have stayed true across time. International students must balance the importance of maintaining their cultural identity and heritage with fitting in the United States. They must navigate engaging with unfamiliar cultural traditions, holidays and customs, while finding ways to honor their home countries’ traditions at Blair. Sometimes, they must address experiencing reverse culture shock when returning home after an extended period abroad. For those whose native language is not English, they must manage language and communication dynamics with family members and friends who may not speak English and deal with the challenge of helping their own language skills evolve and adapt over time. 

Arriving at Blair in 2021

Henry’s experience underscores the supportive environment Blair fosters for its international students, a tradition to which recent graduate Clara Yan ’24 can relate. Although her mother had lived in the United States during graduate school and shared her experiences, Clara recalls, “I was still pretty shocked when I came to Blair for the first time.” Coming from Beijing, China, Clara was first struck by the tangible cultural differences between the East and West, such as the food and how people dress. “I come from a pretty conservative family,” Clara notes. “I wasn’t used to seeing people in pajama pants.” 

Clara first became acquainted with Blair from a friend who graduated in 2020. When she arrived at Blair in the fall of 2021, global pandemic precautions had made travel from Blairstown to Beijing particularly difficult. “All the U.S. embassies in China closed my first year, so I couldn’t get a visa in China. I had to fly to Singapore to get the visa.” In addition, direct flights ceased, and Clara found herself taking multiple transfer flights, making her commute both complicated and costly. Unable to get home easily, Clara spent the summers of ninth and tenth grade staying with friends in New Jersey, for which she is grateful. “I know a lot of kids who go to American boarding schools and face more problems. For example, Blair is always open during Winter Long Weekend for international students. It doesn’t make sense to fly home for just five days—I’m really grateful that Blair stays open for us.”

However, returning home to China in the summer of her junior year wasn’t all she thought it would be. To her childhood friends, Clara had changed, and she felt the perception of others on many levels, especially through comments former classmates made on social media. Certainly, she didn’t want to be judged or to lose her own culture. “Sometimes there is judgment for embracing things the Chinese would not do,” she explains. “Every person must sort that out for themselves, but I have found a middle ground.”

When Clara first arrived at Blair, she already knew English but grappled with grammar and humor barriers. “I did speak English in my middle school, but jokes are different. Catchphrases are different. I was scared to talk when I came to the United States.” For instance, “crack me up” means to cause heartbreak in China, while here it means to cause laughter. The difference between knowing English and speaking it fluently was bridged by the friends who supported Clara’s transition into Blair life. She joined fall tennis, managed girls’ varsity basketball and took a chance on softball. “The kids were very kind. It was more what I was telling myself.” In the end, learning to speak confidently was no different than finding her footing in a new sport; with a support team behind her, Clara learned she could conquer the challenges.

As for what’s next, Clara follows in the footsteps of many international students before her, looking toward a bright future. This fall, she joined Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, to study philosophy and, eventually, to pursue law school. Although she has left Blair’s campus behind for another, the lessons learned from embracing cultural diversity will guide her in the next chapters of her life. 

Lasting Impact
Blair’s international students have come from all corners of the globe, and they have brought all corners of the globe to Blair with them. Learning how to adapt to a new language, preserve their cultural heritage and experience the unifying magic of the arts and athletic teams are just a few of the life lessons that Mungie, Henry and Clara gained during their time at Blair, but their impact on Blair will continue to be immeasurable. Former Dean of Students and Assistant Headmaster Dave Low, who spent over 30 years helping students from every background and experience adjust to Blair, summarizes the advantages: “For any teenager to be in an environment that includes so many kids from so many different backgrounds is an inherent and obvious advantage. It broadens horizons in ways few other things can and prepares them for a globalized world.” In her own way, Clara echoes that sentiment. “The School respects us,” she says. “I’m really grateful that Blair is the school I chose.”
 

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