When 8th grade rolled around, it was time to start thinking about high school. I naturally thought hat I would follow in my siblings footsteps and continue my 4 years at Kenwood. MetroSquash had a different plan for me. They began introducing the idea of boarding school to one student who was 2 grades above me, two years prior. His name was Joseph. MetroSquash sought out the academically competitive students in the programs and encouraged the idea of boarding school. They provided test prep for the SSAT (an exam made for boarding schools), transportation to boarding schools fairs, and helped convince parents to consider the option. Joesph was the first student from MetroSquash to attend a boarding school , Hotchkiss. The year after him Yazmyne went to Choate, and that's when it came to my year. My year was the creme of the crop. There were so many "qualified" students from my grade who had the chance of getting into boarding school (8 in total). I would say that I took the most convincing to apply to boarding school. I was perfectly fine with the life I lived in Chicago. The only thing that changed my mind was when my coach Max bet me that if I got into Loomis Chaffee (his alma mater) he would buy me a new squash racket of my choice.
When it was time to take the SSAT, there were only four students that still entertained the idea of boarding school. MetroSquash told us that scoring at least in the 15th percentile was great. Schools like the ones we were applying to "understood that we were disadvantaged compared to the majority of students applying as well". So when I scored in the 36th percentile, I was ecstatic. The others scored in the 45%, 13%, and 9%. Later I was excepted into Loomis Chaffee, which I would say is the most significant turning point in my educational career.
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