As the seasons change, Peddie’s graduating Class of 2027 finishes their freshman fall. About 140 new Falcons became more independent, went from knowing two people at school to at least 50 people, and went from hearing about Blair Day to experiencing Blair Day. While going through this once-in-a-lifetime experience, many freshmen reflected on their first term at Peddie as a unique, challenging and astonishing experience.
The new school year kicked off with Peddie On-Campus Orientation, known as POCO, where new students got introduced to their class deans, learned about support services at Peddie and met new classmates. Although many freshmen despised the required SWAY testing that evaluated their balance, cognition and function abilities, Eason Wang ’27 thought that POCO “was a great chance for me to meet new classmates and was very fun.” The Carnival and Blue and Gold Games ended POCO nicely, and the freshman were about to start their fall term!
As the Class of ’27 endured their fall term, many new students struggled with adjusting to more work, less sleep, athletic commitments, Math Problem Solving classes, and walking all around campus to get to class. Despite many challenges, Dalila Acosta ‘27 explained, “[The adjustment] was actually easy because the people here made it easier … my dorm parents were very welcoming, the teachers are nice, and the kids are pretty nice too.” Acosta mentioned that the most surprising part of her fall term was how kind and welcoming the teachers were. The strong community at Peddie is something many people talk about and is a reason why Peddie stands out from other schools.
Within the fall term, many significant events like Homecoming, Freshman Games, Freshman Musical, Blair Week, and Blair Day were core memories for everyone. Homecoming was a fabulous time for everyone to dress up and dance the night away. While the sophomores and juniors were taking the PSATs, the freshmen formed teams with their humanities classes and competed against each other in different games. Many freshmen were able to bond and have an enjoyable time. Similarly, the Freshman Musical: Shrek Jr. The Musical was a great experience for both the cast and the audience members, leaving everyone in laughter! Lastly, there was Blair Week and Blair Day: the events everyone talked about. Blair Week had tons of school spirit and lots of smiles, and while Blair Day ended in a tie, it was an unforgettable day when everyone was cheering each other on.
This experience of having new faces become familiar faces, getting to know our teachers and enjoying fun events is all a major part of freshman fall, but a concept of freshman fall is that everything is happening for the first time. The Class of ’27 will never be able to have an experience like this ever again in their lives, and only a school like Peddie could make it that special.
