#iamExeter: Anna ’26

What it’s like to be an Exeter student, from Exeter students.

Who better to talk about life at the Academy than the experts!? In a series of interviews with students, we asked questions prospective families might have as their student considers applying. First on the list: Anna Taormina ’26. She’s a four-year senior day student from neighboring Newfields. Anna arrived on campus shy and self-conscious. Today, she’s thriving in her senior year, with a large friend group and — well, let Anna tell it:

When did you first feel like you “belonged” at Exeter? Do you remember a moment when Exeter started to feel like the right place for you?

I was really shy, and it was hard at first to fit in, so it really wasn’t until the spring of my ninth-grade year that I really felt like I fit in. The spring was when I really started to meet my people. We would study outside in the red lawn chairs and we would play spike ball in the quad for hours. That was when I felt like I finally fit into the puzzle.

What advice would you give a new student who is nervous about fitting in or keeping up?

I would say I had the same feeling, and to be honest, everyone does. The nice thing is nobody comes here knowing a single person, we almost all come as an outsider. I think if you’re shy like me, the Harkness table will definitely help: It’s more just like conversations with your classmates.

What’s something about Exeter that might surprise someone who doesn’t know us?

We’re actually not all nerds! Everyone I talk to back home always thinks were just boring nerds, and I promise you we aren’t. This is probably the most colorful and active school I have ever seen. It’s not just all work, so if you’re scared of that, don’t be. It’s a place where trying new things is something that you will do almost every day, and around every corner you’ll meet someone new that broadens your circle. Oh, and we have the best school spirit ever — even my friends from public school say it — I have never seen people be so proud to call this school home.

How has Exeter changed the way you go about learning and expressing your ideas?

Harkness is one thing that has changed my mind almost completely. It showed me that when you learn, you’re not just trying to show off what you know but take in the things that others know. Ask the questions that need to be asked and don’t be afraid to be wrong or embarrassed, so someone can show you the right direction. When we sit down at that table, we become both a student and a teacher. We listen and take in, while also expressing our side. Harkness not only opened up my mind but my personality. It taught me not to be shy and to trust my voice and my opinion.

What’s something you believed about yourself before coming to Exeter that has changed since you enrolled?

I believed that I saw the whole picture of the world before Exeter. But at Exeter, I heard stories that made my jaw drop, and learned things that I didn’t even think could exist. Exeter showed me that what might seem impossible or what might seem done is never done, there is always more to see, more to learn, and that you can always find the possible in the impossible.

Finish this sentence: Exeter pushes me to …

Now it may sound basic, but “try new things.” In the four years I have been here, I have done things I never dreamed of doing. This place makes you escape the box you might have put yourself in. They make you try new things right when you get here — even when you’re scared to do it. I promise you’ll be happy you did, because each new thing you do or try to do shows you something that you can carry with you forever.