Most Concord Academy students have probably seen younger kids around campus at some point or another. At CA, faculty members have the option to live on campus with their families. One can find campus kids out on the quad when it snows or eating at the Stu-Fac with their families during dinner. Campus kids are an integral part of this community and have a unique perspective on CA after becoming students themselves.
“Doarders” is a colloquial term describing day students who live on campus with their families, bridging the typical “boarder” and “day” students. Most “Doarders” became part of CA’s community long before becoming a student here. The transition from living at CA to then learning at CA creates a unique point of view for these students, like Jeffrey Yeh ’27. Jeffery and his family moved onto campus in 2016 when he was in first grade. He recounted, “Before becoming a student, all the [students] around you don’t matter at all [...], but the moment you become a high schooler, these are your classmates.” Jeffrey described how talking to the teachers around him changed, too. He explained, “I feel like they have more to tell me after becoming a student.” Despite having grown up wandering around campus, he didn't feel like he was at home all the time. He stated, “In some ways, it was weird, but in others ways it was just school.”
At the same time, being a “Doarder” definitely has its advantages. As Foster Woodberry ’27 put it, “I still get to participate in all the boarder activities if I want to [...], but I don't have to go to study hall!” However, there are disadvantages too. Foster and their family moved here about a year ago. They stated “It was really difficult at first as [...] I didn't really know a ton about living here.” Jeffrey said, “You don't ever really need to leave.” He described CA as a bubble, to the point where he is tentative about his future outside of it. “Everyone else at CA has to [...] go through this experience of ‘I’m learning about this new place I’ve never been to before’ but I [didn't],” said Jeffery.
It's important to understand the perspective of our fellow doarding community, and the unique relationship and place they have with and in Concord Academy.