“I can recognize an IMS grad because they're leading without being asked. They're always keeping an eye out for others.”

The sense of community that is nurtured at IMS continues well beyond graduation, and that was made clear in early December when a group of alumni donated their time to help current students make the most of their years at IMS.  

Speaking to a captive audience of 7th-9th graders, the alumni shared lessons learned from their IMS experience, the 9th grade program, and how IMS prepared them for their life in secondary school. The visiting alumni were: Dire Adeosun ‘20, Dore Adeosun ‘20, Georgia Perkins ‘22, Rory Perkins ‘22, Chris Wong ‘21, Yujin Kim ‘20, Dymond Johnson ‘20,  and Joy Gao ‘21. The students currently attend Phillips Andover, Choate, Williston Northhampton, Kent, and Berkshire.  

“I had a much better idea of what I wanted to get out of high school because of my 9th grade year at IMS,” said one of the alumni, and many agreed that the structure provided by IMS was crucial to learning how to manage the balance between academics, down time, and athletics in high school. One alum added, “Even if that’s what I pushed back against the most, it was a blessing in disguise.”

As the panel fielded questions from the audience, there were some useful bits of advice such as, “take advantage of assigned seating at lunch and dinner because you really get to know everyone, and it takes a lot more work to do that in high school.” 

Throughout the discussion, one powerful message came through: take advantage of all that IMS has to offer. “When you go to high school, you’ll be presented with numerous opportunities, but it requires courage to step into them. IMS gives you that courage.” 

Many thanks to these very special visitors for sharing their insight with the IMS community.