Hometown
Northbrook, Illinois 

Extracurriculars
Equestrian Team; Girls Track & Field; Physics and Astronomy Club President 

Accolades
J. Newfield Senior Science Prize; Junior Science Award 

Senior Courses
College-level English IV: Shakespeare; College-level English IV: Satire; College-level English IV: Contemporary Literature; College-level Multivariable Calculus; College-level Physics II; College-level Astrophysics; College-level History: Seminar in Immigration and Ethnicity; Computer Science Independent Study 

Next Year
Princeton University 

 

As someone who loves to gaze at the stars, it’s only natural that Lillie Szemraj’s favorite place on the Loomis Chaffee campus would be in the Meadows. Lillie would often go there to sit during the day and watch the sky at night. “There is a little bench out in the fields that’s beautiful in the fall” she says. “This past year, I also brought my telescopes there at night.” 

Even before Lillie enrolled at Loomis, she felt comfortable on campus. She became familiar with the Island when her older sisters, Kalina Szemraj ’19 and Emilie Szemraj ’16, were students, but Lillie says she also felt a connection of her own to the school. “When I visited, it really felt like home. I loved the emphasis on science, history, and writing, and I wanted to challenge myself,” she says. 

Lillie’s interest in the night sky drew her to the study of astrophysics at Loomis, and in her senior year, as president of the Physics and Astronomy Club, she found and scheduled astrophysicists from colleges and universities around the United States to share their wisdom with students and staff members during “Evening of Science” programs. She also incorporated her passion for astronomy into her senior project where she studied the stars, creating a presentation, “In the Starlight.” 

Her academic interests extended well beyond the sciences, however. “One class I loved was my CL [College-Level] U.S. History class with Mr. [Harrison] Shure,” she says. Lillie took the class in her junior year, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, so classes were online for part of the year. But even over Zoom, Lillie and her classmates bonded. “We had very intense discussions about history, and Mr. Shure encouraged us to express our ideas, and we had interesting discussion prompts as well,” she recalls. “When we were in person, it was even more amazing. It felt like a family because we all supported each other.” 

Outside of the classroom, Lillie gravitated to the school’s equestrian program, a sport with which she had some previous experience. “Even though it’s an individual sport, the team really encouraged each other and created such a team atmosphere that it really felt like we competed together,” she says. “I love being around horses, and the equestrian team was a great way for me to relax. It’s challenging because the horse has feelings and emotions too, and you must create a bond with the animal that you’re riding.” 

Lillie improved considerably as an equestrian athlete in her years on the team. “We have wonderful coaches in the barn that support and help us to achieve our goals. When I came here, I could jump cross rails (a jump with two poles that form an “x” shape) but I moved up to three-foot rails, which is a dramatic difference when you ride. I have been able to grow so much as a rider, and in my final show as a senior, I won first place.”

Reflecting on her time on the Island, Lillie says she was able to be herself. “Loomis caused me to grow as a person and helped me to develop into a leader, which allowed me to share my passions with the community.”