Interview with The Bishop Strachan School Alum, Wendy Sun

The education is very cutting-edge. You are in a very nurturing environment, and I think education is created there with the mindset that girls can really do anything.

The culture at the Bishop Strachan School is that whatever you want to do, the faculty members and the heads of the school and the leadership there will be super supportive. So while I was at the Bishop Toronto School, I started a lego robotics team to help the inner-city schools in Toronto. They saw that I was really interested in robotics, so I actually started the robotics team, and then we were able to compete, and we actually made it to the international competition in Atlanta. I think definitely having had those opportunities helped to strengthen my application for later on when I studied biomedical engineering at Columbia. It also helped me gain the skills to really thrive there, and it helped set me up for success later on in my career.

When we walked through the door, there was just this warmth that exuded from the school, from the secretary that sat at the front of the school, welcoming you there, and the teachers that sometimes hang out and welcome folks in. So I think just that general energy that I felt—I can’t really put a specific word to what I felt—but when you walk through the doors on Lonsdale Road, you feel it. It’s just that warmth and energy and seeing the students and how happy they are and seeing the student-teacher interactions. It’s just that sense of community.

When I think of what I appreciate most about Bishop Strachan School I think definitely it’s the people at the school—from the friends, the teachers. They definitely helped me become the person I am today in my most transformative years. I feel like the friends that you definitely make there are lifetime friends.

The teachers—I still keep in touch with them and I go back to say Hi. They are just such excellent educators and that’s what they dedicated their lives to and they’re just absolutely phenomenal. I think with BSS, the quality of the education is really phenomenal.

At Bishop Strachan School they always believe that girls can do anything, and that’s really what I felt there. For a lot of the activities I was involved with, they didn’t exist when I first arrived, but I always thought, ‘Hey, I’m interested in this,’ and I was able to get in contact with the administration and the faculty members who are really able to help me kick it off the ground and start. I really felt like I could do anything coming out of BSS.

If I were to describe BSS as a person, I see two roles—I think this person is fun and this person is supportive, and I would feel comfortable telling this person what my dreams and aspirations are. And at the same time, as much as the school’s characteristics fulfills the ‘friend’ parts of it, it also has that ‘parent’ feeling to it where it’s like, ‘I know that I’m accountable to be the best that I can be and be the best person I could be, and I know that I’m constantly pushed to be the best that I can’.

Folks at BSS are all very caring of one another. We feel like a family essentially, with the students there. And I think the coolest thing is that all of the students all had different interests. It was a very diverse population of students, and it was cool learning from my friends who loved musicals while another friend was really into dance, and another friend was really into debating. And so just learning from my friends and being together and learning along the way together was really wonderful.

Especially being in the boarding school program—when I was there, people came from over 20 countries—and so learning about different cultures and having a global perspective of things, and being really able to be in other folks’ shoes, and seeing things from their perspective, I learned that at a young age. And I think that ability to see where other folks are coming from and having empathy, and that has really helped me through my career.

High school is really transformative, and I think there are a lot of times where you learn how to overcome adversity, you learn how to problem-solve, and it’s the first time you’re making a lot of decisions on your own and being your own person. I think BSS just created that perfect environment where I aspired to be the best I can be and pursue different things, while the faculty there are always giving me that independence, but making sure I don’t fall hard.

I do have to say that over the years I’ve seen the student population become even more diverse, which is really heartwarming. One of my best friends from college, her sister, is currently at BSS, and just seeing the growth that has come, in terms of the diversity in the student population, is really amazing and incredible.

Yeah, I still love the school. And I think the cool thing is, when you go to BSS, you have this incredible alumni network, and so I feel like there’s always a bond—like, ‘Oh, you went to BSS, I went to BSS too.’ And the BSS alumni—who you would call ’Old Girls’—are everywhere in the world, and so you run into folks pretty frequently, actually. It’s really cool to have that support network and to have a network of Old Girls where you have that common bond.

The campus is so beautiful. It kind of looks like Hogwarts. On my most recent visit, they had actually built this new wing with a ’living wall’ and it’s just so beautiful. But I would say, when you’re on the Bishop Strachan School tour, just really appreciate the student-to-student and student-to-faculty interactions, because I think that’s something unique about BSS.

I would tell a student entering BSS: ‘Be yourself and know that there’s no limit.’ If there’s something you’re passionate about, go for it. Tell someone about it and someone will be able to help you achieve that dream.