“[Attending Loomis Chaffee] is a life-changing experience. You’ll never be in another place where you meet so many people from so many different backgrounds with so many different interests. There is so much to do, and you get to enjoy that with amazing people and a great community that will always support you.”

Andes Chai, about 8 years old, was having a sleepover at a friend’s house one night. His parents suggested he “make something of his afternoon before going.” He played video games. Not what they had in mind, so his father talked to him. “He asked me what had I done today to get better,” Andes, now a sophomore, still remembers. Andes said he apologized for spending so much time on games. “My father said, 'You don’t need to apologize. I just wish you had done something better.' And he started telling me how important hard work is.” That moment, Andes said, helps drive him, as does wanting to make his parents proud. “To do anything of substance, it’s a day-to-day thing,” he said. “You need to work every day.”
 

Year: sophomore

Hometown: Hong Kong

Clubs/activities: Football, baseball, Guitar Ensemble.

On baseball: He was introduced to the sport in Hong Kong when he was about 5 years old. At first, he didn’t enjoy the game. “Baseball is a hard sport.” His parents encouraged him to stick with it a while longer. He started getting better, and he began to love the sport. He played varsity baseball as a freshman at Loomis Chaffee, pitching and playing the infield. He said one thing he enjoys about the sport is the team aspect, that you’re only one person in a lineup. Baseball often has been referred to as a “romantic sport,” for reasons that include all the emotions as the game unfolds. Andres says the sport feels that way to him — “the way games end on a walk-off hit or in winning a championship, the moments you share with your teammates and feel everyone contributed.”

On living in Hong Kong versus at Loomis: In Hong Kong, he said, he was a “bus or train away from anywhere I wanted to go.” That trip might include his favorite food: Hong Kong-style wonton noodle soup. “Loomis Chaffee has worked well for me. I wanted a change of pace, and Windsor is a small town. I love being a boarder and the community is amazing. My roommate and I are tight, and I‘m not afraid to open up to people,” which he said includes not only fellow students, but also adults in the community. 

Favorite place on campus: He said he has two. “The baseball field.” Even though he has played for only one year so far, he said he has many memories. One of them is as simple as sitting in the dugout “and looking out at the view.” A second place is the kitchen in his dorm, Harman Hall, cooking and laughing with friends. 

A course he has particularly enjoyed: Contemporary Economic Perspectives taught by Kevin Henderson. He said Kevin’s approach — “Explain it to me like I’m a 4-year-old, keep it simple” — works well in a course that is described as seeking to help students learn and understand the complexities of real-world decision-making.

If you could have a robot do any chore for you, what would it be? He said he is pretty good at various chores except folding clothes. He said he always seems to mess up when folding and has to start all over again. And then, he said, he sometimes stuffs clothes unfolded into a drawer. “I take them out and they’re a mess, so if I had a robot, that would be perfect.” 

Ideal day off from school: “I like to keep myself busy.” He'd get up at 7 or so, have a nice breakfast. “I like hitting baseballs in the morning. It’s kind of like therapy sometimes. Maybe go to West Hartford with friends, eat.” He mentions going to a movie, playing basketball for fun, maybe an escape room, and more food, dinner at a Korean barbeque restaurant. “I’m assuming it is a Saturday. Back on campus for dorm snack and hanging out. Bed at 11."

What would you say to someone who is considering attending LC? “I’d tell them it is a life-changing experience. You’ll never be in another place where you meet so many people from so many different backgrounds with so many different interests. There is so much to do, and you get to enjoy that with amazing people and a great community that will always support you.”