First there was Sarah. Then came her older brother Jack. Finally sophomore Betsy Romans navigates the Upper School without her older siblings, who she described as her “mentors” as she entered 9th grade last year.

Romans has an older sister who graduated in 2015, and an older brother who graduated in 2016, both graduating from St. Paul Academy. When Romans came to the upper school, she had a pretty good sense of what to expect.

“I have had a sibling in high school ever since fifth grade so I heard all about classes and how the structure compared to middle school,” Romans said.

She felt prepared for the academic aspects of high school, but as she said, “every grade differs, so social experiences were different.”

When Romans runs into trouble, even though both of her siblings are away, she can still keep in contact with them and can seek advice from them when she needs it. “Now when they’re at college, I still call and ask them questions,” Romans said.  

“[In middle school and 9th grade] having older siblings helped a lot with homework.” Her brother was a senior when she first came to the upper school, and was always helpful when she needed him.

For Romans , teachers know her as the “little sister”.

“Sometimes [it is annoying], but it’s more funny now that it’s been happening for so long,” Romans said.

Although she may want to forge her own relationships with her teachers, she acknowledges that many of her extracurriculars have been influenced by her older siblings.

“My decision to play the cello was highly influenced by my sister. I also just started playing basketball this year and my teammates have told me that I play like my sister,” Romans said.

After Romans did a layup,  “a teammate told me that my layup reminded them of Sarah’s as it was aggressive.”

Romans has loved having her siblings with her throughout her SPA experience.

“Almost anything that I struggled with, they had already experienced or witnessed, and always had the best advice,” Romans said.