Published on November 07, 2005

I found myself at Exeter. I know that may sound a bit dramatic and trite at the same time, but the more I think about it, the more I know how valuable it was. I graduated in 1990.

Phillips Exeter Academy is a boarding college, a preparatory school in the northeastern US state of New Hampshire, an hour’s drive north of Boston.

It was there that I found my voice – the courage to speak my mind. The Harkness Table system of learning – in which 10 to 12 students and a teacher gather around an oval table to discuss and converse on the subject at hand – is a unique teaching method.

There’s no place to “hide”. You have to be prepared and ready to share your thoughts and opinions. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong, as long as you participate in an intelligent and thoughtful manner.

I also discovered my love of literature and writing at Exeter. We were required to read a wide selection of fiction from Shakespeare to Hemingway to classic Russian tales such as “The Brothers Karamazov” and “Anna Karenina”.

Aside from the academic subjects, I even came to appreciate sport as part of life at Exeter. The amazing physical education facilities include 19 tennis courts, two indoor skating/hockey rinks, two swimming pools, an indoor track and playing fields, among many others.

Exeter, established in 1781, is one of the oldest and most prestigious boarding schools in the United States. Almost 1,000 high-school students reside on the huge campus, which includes the largest secondary school library in the world and extensive facilities to support programmes in the arts and athletics.

For example, the modern languages offered are Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.

Even with all these credentials, few Thais have heard of the institution and fewer still have attended it. The school’s Thai alumni association would like to change that.

One of Exeter’s most prominent Thai alumni is Banthoon Lamsam, chief executive officer of Kasikornbank.

“I would say that of the 10 years I spent in the States studying, Exeter was the most meaningful time. It had a tremendous impact on who I became and on my thinking in general. I learned about the importance of discipline, being self-reliant, about time management and about organised sports as an essential part of growing up.”

“It was quite a shock to go there straight from Thailand,” Banthoon says. “The culture and teaching techniques were completely different from anything I had been exposed to. But even with all the challenges, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. My experiences at Exeter taught me so much during the formative years of my life. It was a definitive time.”

Banthoon attended Exeter from 1967 to 1971 and went on to Princeton and Harvard. He stresses that Exeter is a tough and demanding school but the opportunities are valuable and endless.

“The Exonian [Exeter student] has to be a bit outgoing because he will be in a culture where he will have to interact with people from all parts of the world.”

Charlie Jutabha, managing director of PrimeLink, an information-technology consultancy, graduated from Exeter in 1988.

“Many things impressed me about Exeter. First was the outstanding calibre of the students. I believe that if many Exeter students had stayed home, they would have been valedictorian of their classes.”

After Exeter, Charlie went on to the University of Pennsylvania. Many Exonians go on to Ivy League colleges, but Charlie says Exeter isn’t primarily about going to famous universities but about a way of living.

“Two of Exeter’s mottoes are the Latin Non Sibi – Not for oneself – and in the founder’s deed of gift, John Phillips said, ‘Though goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous’. One does not exist in the world alone – we need to think and care for others around us.”

For more information, write to exeterthailand@gmail.com.

Salisa Pinkayan

Special to The Nation

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