Many factors play an integral role in one’s Choate experience — athletics, course load, advisers, etc. However, one overlooked and greatly influential aspect is having a roommate. Roommates accompany each other during long nights of studying and share deep conversations about their campus life. Beyond this, they are built-in friends, providing emotional support as a family away from home.
Martha Chessen ’22 and Naomi Fleisch ’22
Residing in Homestead, this pair has been rooming together since sophomore year. Chessen and Fleisch recall meeting in freshman year on the first day of school. Since then, they have been inseparable. They enjoy the stability in their relationship and always having someone to talk to at the end of a long day. “If I’ve had a super long day and I haven’t talked to anyone, and I feel super isolated, I know that at a certain point, Naomi will come back, and we’ll get to hang out,” Chessen said. This pair has grown together throughout their time at Choate. “We have gone through random phases together over the past three years,” they shared. “We had a corn nuts phase where we excessively ate ranch corn nuts; we had our ramen Friday nights; and we were watching The Voice videos every night.” They enjoy each other’s easygoing energy, and they complement each other’s personalities. “We’re just goofy, and we’ve never had big drama or anything. But obviously, [we] can talk about serious stuff with each other sometimes,” said Fleisch.
Gigi Chen ’24 and Isabella Wu ’24
Over in West Wing, the All Gender Housing, we can find Chen and Wu. This pair became friends during their freshman year through Choate Quiz Bowl. At the time, Chen, an international student, was attending classes virtually, but this pair didn’t allow distance to stand between their relationship. Through being in Quiz Bowl together and sharing many interests, Chen and Wu became closer. They enjoy each other’s presence and positive energy. “Gigi really helps me stay centered and on track,” said Wu. Chen also shared her appreciation for her roommate through “getting a lot of emotional support and just having someone to chill with.” In their room, they enjoy having a chance to “comfortably exist with each other late into the night without really having to do anything,” as Chen put it. This pair can be distinguished by their hair-cutting antics. In freshman year, Chen cut Wu’s hair in the Student Activities Center (SAC) bathroom and has been doing it ever since. If you see Wu around campus, be sure to compliment her haircut, courtesy of her roommate.This next pair can be found shooting hoops on the court behind Spencer or joking around in their room. As first-year roommates, Lee and Yi are a lighthearted pair that always bring a fun type of chaos to the room. Even without sharing any classes last year, they bonded through communicating with each other in basketball. “We had a lot of commonalities that we didn’t know about,” Yi said. They enjoy each other’s companionship and having conversations so much so that “every night feels like your sleepover with your best friend,” as Lee put it. At times, Spencer 215 becomes a music studio. Yi and Lee share a love for music and transform their room into “Spencer Freestyle Nights,” where “kids will come into the dorm and put on a beat, trying their hardest to think of bars — just freestyling and having fun,” said Yi. Ultimately, they hope to “influence younger kids, especially incoming students, to form authentic, trustworthy, and reliable bonds [with] each other.”
Ryan Lee ’24 and Kevin Yi ’24
This next pair can be found shooting hoops on the court behind Spencer or joking around in their room. As first-year roommates, Lee and Yi are a lighthearted pair that always bring a fun type of chaos to the room. Even without sharing any classes last year, they bonded through communicating with each other in basketball. “We had a lot of commonalities that we didn’t know about,” Yi said. They enjoy each other’s companionship and having conversations so much so that “every night feels like your sleepover with your best friend,” as Lee put it. At times, Spencer 215 becomes a music studio. Yi and Lee share a love for music and transform their room into “Spencer Freestyle Nights,” where “kids will come into the dorm and put on a beat, trying their hardest to think of bars — just freestyling and having fun,” said Yi. Ultimately, they hope to “influence younger kids, especially incoming students, to form authentic, trustworthy, and reliable bonds [with] each other.”
