Tips for Being the Ultimate Boarding School Roommate
If you’re living away from home for the first time, or even if you’re a day student who returns home regularly, you might need to get used to living with someone you’re not related to – a roommate. Ms. Kieran Ward brings her unique perspective as a current Admissions Assistant and former boarding house staff member to this list of tips for how to make the roommate experience great for everyone.
Tips for Being the Ultimate Boarding School Roommate
If you’re living away from home for the first time, or even if you’re a day student who returns home regularly, you might need to get used to living with someone you’re not related to – a roommate. Ms. Kieran Ward brings her unique perspective as a current Admissions Assistant and former boarding house staff member to this list of tips for how to make the roommate experience great for everyone.
So, you’re moving to boarding school! You’ve probably thought about your dream room layout, the snacks you’ll bring, and maybe even dreamed about what your roommates might be like – for better or for worse. Whether you end up with a best friend that lasts a lifetime or someone who occasionally “borrows” your snacks, being a good roommate can have a genuine impact on your and their experience.
A common theme across the boarding houses at Shawnigan is teamwork and respect. It’s up to you to show up to sign-ins, commitments, events, etc., but it’s also up to your roommates and housemates to rely on each other to do the same (and lots of phone alarms to remind yourself too – you know who you are!) Your roommates play a key role in building good routines and habits that set you and your room up for success in a boarding environment. I can think of many examples of what makes a roommate so special from the boarding staff perspective: the secret-birthday-cake-baking-turned-full-room-dance-party late at night after Prep, being a shoulder to cry on for a friend in need, waking up the “chronic napper” roommate who struggles to get to sign-ins on time, and so many other instances that just become a part of your everyday life as a student at Shawnigan. You’re all in it together!
At Shawnigan, junior students have more than one roommate, and senior students have one or two roommates. Boarding life at Shawnigan is the heart of the School community, and our day students are fully integrated into the boarding houses. Day students are assigned a room where they have access to a bed up to two nights a week. They have full-time access to a desk and closet space to do their work and store their uniform and any personal belongings that make their room feel like home alongside their other roommates. Once a student starts in a big House – one of our nine Grade 9-12 Houses – they remain in that House until the end of their Shawnigan Journey in Grade 12. Typically, students are assigned roommates in their grade group.
No amount of research and Pinterest board imagining can tell you what it is actually like to have roommates, and what it means to be a good roommate. We got the inside scoop on some tried-and-true tips straight from the experts who have survived the trenches of boarding school themselves:
- Communication (most important and most mentioned overall)
- Be respectful of boundaries and expectations of roommates
- Respect the routines of your roommates (e.g. an early-morning rower may need to go to sleep a little bit earlier than the student with late-night hockey practice)
- Spend quality time with your roommates – they become like family
- Listen to your roommates
- Prioritize your roommate relationship/friendship
- Bring communal things for your room when you move in (twinkle lights, plants, flags, snacks, etc.) that reflect your personality, but also things that others might enjoy too
- Always be open to compromise
- Be honest with each other
- Invest in headphones for Prep and a power bar for all your cords
- Be yourself! Don’t try to be someone you're not to seem “cool”
- Build good schedules and habits early on that will set the tone for the year
- Split room chores (bathroom cleaning, vacuuming, garbage, etc.) evenly
- Create a lighthearted roommate contract early on in the year
- Be emotionally supportive
- Be vulnerable and open-minded
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it
Living with other teenagers is a little weird and a whole lot of wonderful. But with patience, solid communication, and humour, you might just end up with a roommate that you’ll never forget and you look forward to seeing every day. The best kind of roommates are calm, kind, respectful, and open to being a little vulnerable. Don’t be the roommate who is rude, messy, and plays loud music at inconvenient times – you wouldn’t want that yourself! And if all else fails, there’s always the universal peace offering: snacks and a Duke’s Café drink.
Happy boarding!
Interested in learning more about the boarding experience at Shawnigan? Please email admissions@shawnigan.ca to start your Shawnigan Journey today!
Ms. Kieran Ward is an Admissions Assistant at Shawnigan Lake School. She is in her fourth year at the School, having worked as a teaching intern, a live-in staff member of Groves’ House, and in the Events and External Programs department before joining Admissions. She also coaches ice hockey and rugby.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
