“It was one of the best birthdays ever because I spent it with my PRISMS family,” says Lucia Lu of her recent birthday celebration at Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science. For students like Lucia who are thousands miles away from home, birthdays make them even more homesick. They might pick a time to call their parents, then return to study hall and continue their English essay. They might wish to see family members showing up right in front of them, but it is only realized in their dreams.
Homesickness is widespread at any boarding school, but not at PRISMS. In this 80-person community, students feel the warmth of a larger family. Everyone assumes the roles of parents, siblings, and grandparents. There is always a surprise tailored just for you: maybe the Director of Student Life invites you for a free sushi buffet. Maybe the kitchen buys you a birthday cake. Maybe the dorm parents make a special meal for you.
Along with these surprises, PRISMS has a tradition of making video albums for the birthday girl/boy, with everybody gathering to sing a birthday song while playing the video. The albums include love from parents because they are the ones who have chosen the pictures to include in the video.
“It is these small moments that make my birthdays memorable here at PRISMS,” said Angel.
Are there any other such small moments? Yes! Besides birthday songs and cakes, some students consider the “card” the most moving gift. Everyone writes birthday wishes on a small card, which is carefully wrapped.
“There are some lines on the card that I have read at least a million times,” said Amy, who graduated last year but still has the card with her in college.
The special relationship can be found not just on one special day, but everyday. My dorm room always gets cold in the middle of the night, and on a few occasions I was forced to sleep in the commons area. I didn’t tell Mr. Stocker, our facility manager, because I thought this problem was trivial. But somehow he learned that I sometimes disappear from my room and sleep in the commons. Dr. Yang and Mr. Stocker together came up with a solution. They gave me a fuzzy blanket to lay above the mattress and sealed the windows to prevent a draft . It was late at night but both of them insisted on solving the problem that same night. When Mr. Stocker was about to leave, he patted me on the shoulder and said, “You have my phone number right? I don’t care if it is three in the morning, if you are cold, just call me and I will come here to help you.”
Before the words “thank you” popped out of my mouth, he was gone.
There are always words, sentences, and actions that make you smile. Eating fast food for three years, I was already tired of it. So I usually skipped meals and replaced them with snacks. When our dorm parent, Ms. Zorowitz, learned about this issue, she took me to the grocery store and bought healthy food with me. Every morning she would make me vegetable or fruit smoothies. Nurse Shirley also helped me to get permission from Dr. Yang so that I could cook some vegetables in her office. They all tried to convince the cafeteria to offer healthier and less oily options. Although not much has improved I barely eat any snacks now because I have better options in front of me.
Most of what PRISMS does is out of love. People come here and people leave, but no one could leave PRISMS without reminiscing about each member of his big community.
“It is a small school, a large family,” said Mary. “Next year I am going to graduate, but I will always bring the three birthday cards with me.”