“I came for the math and stayed for the friends.”

Julia Hoffman

For as long as she can remember, Julia Hoffman has liked building things. She even asked her mom and dad for a saw for Christmas when she was five. While she didn’t get the saw, she soon started working with snap circuits, then building robots using arduino kits. Following a great experience at a STEM-focused middle school, Julia knew she wanted to enroll at a high school that would allow her to continue to foster her love of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and Loomis Chaffee clearly fit the bill. But her decision to attend Loomis was influenced by much more than great academics. 

“During my revisit day, I had the opportunity to shadow Molly Forrester [a freshman at the time]. She was really nice and made me feel like I had friends and I belonged at Loomis, even though I had only been there eight hours. I felt welcomed and at home. I knew that not only were my interests going to be met on a cerebral level, but also there were clubs I was interested in, people who seemed nice, and a welcoming community. So I guess I came for the math and stayed for the friends.”