Interview with The Country Day School Alum, McKinley Hunt

Country Day School gave me the courage to seek out opportunities that would be beneficial to my academic success. Queen’s is obviously a very academically oriented university, and I felt confident attending a university like Queen’s because of the education I received at CDS. And everyone at CDS was so encouraging to chase what I was after and were very supportive of my decision.

I wanted to become a teacher because of my experience at CDS. The teachers there are unparalleled, and my experiences in the classroom showed me what school should be like. I'm so honoured and grateful that I had the opportunity to go to Country Day. I don't know if I would have been a teacher had I not had such positive experiences with my teachers at that school and wanting to give back to the community the way that they gave back to me.

I struggle to come up with my proudest memory of Country Day School because I have so many amazing memories from the school. But I would say one of my best memories would be winning a Case National Championship with the rugby team in my first year in Grade 9, which was a great honour for the school. The school's rugby program is incredibly successful, so that was probably one of my favourite memories. But there's so many that it's hard to pinpoint an exact one.

I have had conversations with my family about why they chose Country Day. And the main thing they keep coming back to is just the opportunities that are available to students who attend the school. It's a place where opportunities are the norm. And my family really wanted to give me and my siblings the best education that we could get. They saw that Country Day had the faculty and staff that were willing to put the countless hours in to provide that education and to provide that in a caring and supportive environment, but also to have faculty and staff who are willing to go above and beyond to provide opportunities outside of the classroom. It's hard to find elsewhere.

The one thing that I'm so grateful for is the relationships that I was able to build with my fellow classmates, as well as faculty and staff. And those relationships have lasted beyond graduation. I'm still able to go back to the school, and it feels like I never left. And I have teachers reaching out to me and congratulating me on various successes in university and athletically. Those are the relationships that I treasure because it's a relationship built on mutual appreciation for each other's roles. And I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet such amazing and influential people.

The distinguishing factor between Country Day and other schools is the sense of community at Country Day. Lots of different schools can offer opportunities outside of the classroom. Lots of schools have amazing teachers. But I find it difficult to imagine a school that has a community that is as strong and as united as the community that's at Country Day — families, staff, and students are all working together and are all willing to support each other on their particular endeavours. And that's just a really unique aspect of the school.

Three words that describe Country Day are family, passionate, and committed. I would describe CDs as a family. I would describe it as passionate because everyone is so passionate about their work and their role. Everyone is committed to helping everyone succeed. They're passionate about helping other people and they're committed to helping other people.

At Country Day School there's a strong emphasis on giving back to the community and taking the opportunities that we’re presented with and doing good with that. And you see that on a daily basis with students being actively and passionately engaged in our community service programs and trying to find ways to give back to our community beyond the four walls of the classroom.

People will be pleasantly surprised at how many people are willing to lend a lending hand to reach out. And I think that's really important because if you're a new family heading to the school, try and take those opportunities. Go to the new family breakfast and go to the parent nights, go to your kids sporting events because it is a community and people are there to help each other and they want to connect.

There is a typical CDS student, but it's not in your traditional sense because every typical student is unique in their own way. The typical CVS student is someone who's involved, who achieved success, but they may be achieving that success and being involved in different areas. So one might be more involved in the musical and drama related activities where one might be related to participating in sports. Your typical student is someone who's engaged in everything that the school has to offer and is committed to achieving success both inside and outside of the classroom.

As a person, I truly believe that I am very hardworking and I'm driven, and I know what hard work can result in. And I think that my experiences at Country Day School in the classroom really taught me the importance of working hard academically and reaping the benefits of that hard work. And then, outside of the classroom, CDS taught me respect for others, wanting to give back, and finding ways to use your passion to influence others around you positively.

The most challenging part about the school is that there are so many opportunities and there's so many things that you can do and that can be a lot to handle at times. But I don't know if I would change that because you learn so much from those difficult times trying to balance so many different opportunities and balance your classwork and your extracurricular commitments. I'm happy; I had the challenge of balancing many different things and I wouldn't change it. But I would say that's probably something that is more challenging than you would find in a traditional school.

As I've gotten older and as I've entered into the teaching profession myself, I look back on my experiences at Country Day and I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet such amazing people who are now all over the world and to form relationships with my teachers and the faculty and staff that have lasted beyond my years at the school. So even though I was appreciative of my education during my time at Country Day, as I've removed myself from the school I look back very fondly on my time there. It's a place where, as an educator, I would be privileged to work, and I would love to send my own kids to Country Day School.

Country Day School gives you the opportunity to attend a school where your academic success is at the forefront. But you are also seen as a person beyond your academic work. You're seen as the whole individual and everyone there is rooting for you to follow your passions, and they want you to be successful in the classroom. But academic success is not the end all be all. It is very important. But at the end of the day, they want you to be a good person.

The best thing you can do if you're struggling with the decision about whether to send your child to Country Day is to just visit the school, meet the students, meet the faculty and staff, take a look at the campus, and experience it for yourself. School is supposed to be a great fit and you want it to be a great fit for your child. So the best way to determine if it is a great fit is to just go there. And I think once you meet everyone that makes Country Day, you'll realize that it's one of the most amazing places.

My best advice is to take every opportunity that is presented to you. Even if it's something that you don't know if you're going to be interested in, take a chance with it because you never know what's going to happen. Sooner or later you'll find your niche and where you fit in best and that could be across a variety of activities, but you won't know until you try it and the best thing you can do is just step outside your comfort zone and see where life will take you.