“Nervous, unprepared, and scared.” That was how Brandon ’25 described his feelings when he first came to Canterbury after spending his entire life with his family. Suspecting that many of his fellow students have felt—or are currently feeling—that same level of homesickness, he decided to share his story through a Saints on the Hill presentation in Maguire Auditorium.
“I participated in preseason practices my freshman year, and the campus felt empty without the rest of the students there yet,” he recalled. “Everything was new to me, and I felt completely lost both physically and mentally. I spent some days crying in my room because I missed my family. The feeling of homesickness was so strong.”
Despite all that, Brandon had a message of hope for his peers in the audience. “Maybe there are some new students here who want to know how or when homesickness will end,” he told them. “To that, I cannot say for sure; it is different for everyone. But for me, there was a simple yet crucial reason I overcame my homesickness—my friends.”
Brandon considers his Canterbury friends the greatest thing that ever happened to him. He credits their influence for giving him the strength to get through the tough times and become the student leader he is today—Sacristan, Sixth Form Council member, Boarding Proctor, and Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team Captain. He fondly recalls the small, everyday moments with friends that meant the world to him and urged his fellow Saints to savor every one of their own.
“Be grateful and present in where you are,” he said. “Look around you. All these moments and memories are precious and pure and inevitably make you who you are. You may have a test you are stressing about, college deadlines, or a big game—but just stop and think about your friends, the people you know here, and the School in general. Appreciate things like hanging out on the turf, being in class, and competing on the same sports team with them.”
Brandon’s overriding message to students is that they are never alone on this campus. “The truth is you have so many people by your side,” he shared. “No one is going to judge you for being homesick. It happens to the best of us. If you ever need someone to talk to, you can always come to me or open up to the people you already know.”
In closing, Brandon also praised the Emmaus Retreat for giving him the fortitude to open up to the community about his homesickness. “For anyone on the fence about signing up for Emmaus, do it! The retreat will be one of the greatest highlights you have at Canterbury. It brightened my perspective on things. You will be amazed at how impactful it will be for you.”