Interview with Bond Academy Alum, Chelsea Campbell

I was very shy when I first started Bond. And over time, especially throughout high school, I developed into a much more outgoing person, because of the nurturing that I managed to get from them. The classes there are very small, so there's a lot of individual time in regards to the teachers paying attention to you and then being really able and capable of seeing the potential in each individual student.

It builds such a good foundation, not only for doing your work. It builds a good foundation for you as a person, because you realize this is the basis of how I learn to handle whatever comes my way. After graduating from Bond, I went to York University. I had applied there for criminology. And then after that, I ended up picking up a double course load. I was doing two majors, which were psychology and criminology. And then on the side, I'm also helping out with my family business. So I finished my undergrad. I graduated with that. And now I'm actually working on double masters, both criminology and psychology as well.

Bond provided me with an opportunity to take law courses that were supposed to be for grade 12 students, but they allowed me to do them earlier because of my grade point average. And then from there, what ended up happening was I pretty much developed a passion for it. It's very interesting the way it developed, just because throughout classes, they're always very... how do I put this? Everybody is very interactive. So we're free to express all of your opinions, see everybody's different points of views, ideas. So they allow everybody to have a say in everything, and they nurture that.

If you come here, it's very student-oriented in regards to the teacher being able to communicate with the students and provide extra attention. So from there, we ended up going, we took a tour, I remember, and I ended up enrolled at Bond. That was my parents' decision. And it was very interesting, because it was quite the change going from public school to private school. That was the first time I ever had to wear a uniform. And I remember starting off very shy because a lot of the time, what happens is for students who are typically in the private school, they started very young. So a lot of these children grow up together. And then coming in new, you're always shy, especially when you're that young.

If I had to pick one thing that I would say I appreciate the most, it's probably all of the time and nurturing that went into the development of the potential they see in students. So especially for me, I know that I tend to overachieve, especially, and that was something that was very nurtured. But it was done so in a way where I was given the freedom of myself, not exactly people telling me what to do, but also the ability for me to test out so many different things without being concerned that if I fail, it's going to have such a negative impact. Because I had such a good foundation in regards to the support behind me. 

With student-teacher relations, you can go in and you can have conversations with your teachers. And not only do they hear you as students, but the thing is, they'll hear you as people. They understand you, your personality, they see you in class, but you're free to talk to them as well. And from there, you build a foundation of trust and development. And that way, it makes it very easy for you to communicate if you're having problems with anything. If you're having problems with school work, if you need somebody to talk to, it makes a very safe environment.

So Bond, especially in comparison to other private schools that I had seen, I would say it's very unique in regards to how they tend to handle everything. It's very open. So there's not so much in regards to... how do I put this properly? The way they handle things is based uniquely on the situation itself. So they see the needs of each individual student coming in, and they manage to take that and pretty much design something around it to help them meet their maximum potential, which is something that I understand a lot of schools do. But I do think that Bond tends to take that and elevate it to the next level, especially in my personal experience.

So they are very open-minded to new ideas. They're always reaching new heights. They're always trying to connect everybody in regards to what's happening in the world, always keeping an open mind towards not only different ideas, but different cultures. And then you really get to experience a lot of diversity.

The highest value in actual practice is I would definitely say the development of positive characteristics for the students themselves. Because everybody was always receptive. If you had questions, even if it was something that you thought would make you feel, let's say, insecure for asking, there was never a time where somebody would make you feel bad for not knowing something, or would make you feel a little less than for asking a question that's supposed to, let's say, be common knowledge.

I think what they would find surprising is that even though we have a very high volume of international students, I would say how connected everybody stays. Just in regards to everybody mingling with everyone. So, especially the high school because it's so small. I guess you can say this goes into some of the grades as well, because everybody tends to know each other. But from grade nine to grade 12, there's not really a section off your typical high school where everybody stays to themselves. Everybody's interconnected. So I think that's very surprising, usually.

In regards to the international population, I noticed that when they come here, they're very open to new experiences. They love to interact with everybody, learn new things. They'll always be asking us for opinions and everything, and where or not all our local hotspots are. And then in return, they'll explain to us the differences and how things work, and you really get to get a good understanding and a good idea of the culture. So I would say typically very adventurous, very open-minded, very friendly and welcoming.

I would say Bond’s had a very big influence on who I am. Because of such a small community, you really get to explore a lot of options. And for me personally, what that was like is I got to have a good understanding of what I liked and what I disliked, and even in regards to my future, what I had decided to study and what I had really decided to explore. 

So for me, going into Bond, I was very shy. Especially going into a class full of kids who were already familiar with each other, I had always felt like an odd one out, just because I always tended to be more athletic than your typical girls at that age. Then going into Bond, I really got to nurture that. And instead of it turning into a quality that I decided not to pursue, I absolutely ended up loving sports. I was given the opportunity to play on basketball teams. We have the girls' teams, and I excelled there. I really enjoyed it. So from that, we actually ended up... I became captain and team leader. And that was something that I always turned out to be very proud of. So not only did I learn to indulge in new things, but then also I could learn to be more social, learn to not be as scared.

Coming from a high school where it's already a very small population and everybody is close-knit, you really begin to see that that also shapes your perspective on things. You learn to make better choices. You understand where your limits are, what you should and shouldn't be doing. And then that really gives you the ability to reach out and be more open to talking to so many more people, getting so many more insights, and really being able to spread your wings.

Bond will for sure help you develop and reach a potential that, even if you don't see it, they will. And they’ll help you develop to make yourself the best that you could possibly be. You will 100% always feel welcome. You will never feel like you are on the receiving end of, let's say, negative feedback. They know how to give you creative criticism without you having to worry about feeling like, Oh, I'm disappointing myself. Oh, I'm not doing well at this. This is something that I don't want to do. They will never make you feel like you are less than the potential you have, for sure.

I think it is such a different environment from so many other public and private schools. Just because of how the population differs. Not only are you getting your private school experience, you're also seeing how many different cultures come in and out. You get to mix with so many different people. You get to learn so much about the world. And it is such an eye-opening experience, and you really get to be able to understand just so many different points of views.

I would say for any students entering Bond at any point in time, I would like to tell you to just don't be afraid to be yourself. Try out new things. Test to see things that you like, that you don't like, and just enjoy your time while you're there. Just be as free as you can. There's nothing to be shy or afraid or concerned about. Everybody there will support you for what you're doing, and it'll help you develop into an amazing person for sure.