Interview with The Bishop Strachan School Alum, Monika Steger

What I appreciated most about BSS was the real sense of community that the school had. The student body was so supportive, but also the teachers were so supportive. I still have so many friends to this day from BSS, and we actually have my group of friends. We still do a book club, and we meet monthly to chat about that and just update each other on our lives. And everybody is scattered across Canada and even the US. It's such a close-knit community. And those bonds have carried through, even though I graduated quite a few years ago now. 

I think one of the biggest things about BSS that I remember that I felt differentiated it was almost the history of it. We had so many traditions that were carried on. And whenever old girls would come and chat with the school, they would always ask, ‘Oh, do you still do this? Do you still do that?’ And I think that having that, again, almost sense of community, you have this huge history of the school, and you're able to look back and say, I was a part of that. One of the things that they always do is the Nativity play. It's around Christmas time, and I was in the choir, and the choir sings, and we sit in the chapel balcony, and then below people are acting out the Nativity scene. And it is such a tradition.

Another great thing about BSS is definitely spirit. There are so many spirit events, and the girls at the school would just get so into them. It was really great to see we have a rivalry against another girls' school, Havergal. And so we would do Hockey Day every year, and everybody would get dressed up. We would go, we would sing our different school songs, and it was quite the event. And then we have different houses, like Harry Potter houses. And you would dress up in the colour of your house, and you would have this huge day in the backfield. Everybody would dress up, do games, and then the winner would get the prize or whatever. And it just really brought the school together. 

One would be diversity in so many different aspects. Diversity in the sense that there are so many different cultures and backgrounds that are present at the school, that it's really nice to see that and be able to grow up around that and appreciate that.

There are so many different extracurriculars that you can do at the school, that people thrive in the arts, they thrive in STEM, and there's truly something for everybody. And I think that that's so unique, especially in a high school, I was fortunate. I was able to try sports, and choir. There's a robotics team. There are so many different things that you can really find something that you love.

All of the teachers were so supportive and wanted us to strive to do our best. I think that for a lot of the for me and a lot of the other people who went there, having that instilled in us has helped me really strive for the goals that I want.

I think that something that connected everybody at the school was the fact that it is very open and accepting. And my experience of BSS was that you really could go up to a group of people and ask them what they were doing.

I think that successes were really celebrated at BSS. And I think that growing up and having that environment really connected us all. The artwork that students did was lined the halls and it would have the names, then people would see that and go up to the next person and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, I saw your painting …, and it looked so beautiful.’ So I think that having those successes celebrated really brought us together because they would announce things like, ‘Oh, the basketball team won the semifinals,’ or whatever it might be. I think that that's really what connected all of the students.

Individuality was important. There were so many different passions that people had that it was nice to be around that. And it was something that I really appreciated because I know that maybe there were some areas that I wasn't as comfortable in, and you could really connect with people on different things and be able to talk about what everybody was passionate about and how that made us all different.

Community was such a big factor. We had these houses and you were able to meet every age group in there from 7 to 12. And for me, I started in Grade 7 and went all the way through Grade 12. And for me, starting in the house in grade seven and then going throughout, I was able to really connect with different people, and they fostered that community. And you always could find somebody that you connected with, if they were in an upper year or something like that.

BSS was actually founded in the same year that Canada was. And so we actually have an archives space in the school, and you can go in and they have all the old uniforms that the girls used to wear way back when. And there's somebody who's there who takes care of everything and knows all about the history. And so you can go in and you can see photos from this specific day from 1914 or something like that. And so I think that that's a super unique thing. And I think people would find it surprising to have basically a museum within the school.

I think that for this one, having gone through BSS starting in Grade 7 and then going through Grade 12, and having that support throughout that really important period in my life, I was fortunate. In being able to go to university and then subsequently law school and have that confidence where I felt like I could raise my hand, answer the question, or I felt like I could go up to the professor in university and ask those questions because I had that strong background and foundation, I should say, before going there.

Of course, with the academics, I felt academically prepared. But even in the confidence side of things and even making friends, I felt like I wasn't nervous, and I was able to do those things without feeling too much embarrassment or nerves around that. Looking at the friendships that I made throughout my BSS period, some of my closest friends have gone on to [great things], two of them to med school. I have three engineers in my friend group, and having those people, those strong women in my life has made me better. It's allowed me to push myself to really think, Well, what do I want? What would be best for me? Because I have those strong friendships and connections that were founded at BSS.

I do wish that I had been able to experience maybe more of the art side of things a little bit more. I think I was so focused on the STEM courses and doing that. I ended up doing a life science degree at Queen’s afterwards, and I was striving for that. I wanted to take all the maths and sciences. And I think looking back, it would have been nice to maybe take a drama course as a course and experience those because BSS does have a really strong arts program that I think I maybe focused a little too much on the STEM aspect and maybe would have liked to broaden my horizons, especially at BSS, where it's more of a low-risk situation.

When I first started at BSS, I was in Grade 7, and the school does such a great job with welcoming you and having those orientation events where you can become friends with the people in your grade. And I think when I first started, I was really focused on that niche group. It was just my grade. That's all I wanted to do. And then as I went through this school, I ended up becoming a house head and an ambassador and then head ambassador, which is a prefect position. And so when I moved throughout the school, my focus, I think, shifted to maybe more broadly, I wanted to connect maybe younger students with older students and have a buddy program or focus more on how I can facilitate that or help younger students.

Having left BSS, I think that I'm so grateful for the alumni network that I have now that I never thought about what I was actually at the school. Having exited the school now, there have been so many situations where either I've reached out to an old girl and they've been so helpful to me, or just in passing, I'll meet somebody who, by accident, also went to BSS. And it's such a comforting feeling because you have so much in common… I'm so thankful and grateful to have that support system as well.

I'd recommend BSS based on its community. There are so many instances that I can think of where I, either by coincidence, fell upon this group of friends that we ended up bonding downstairs while we were waiting for our next class, or it was a little bit more planned. BSS does these Duke of Ed trips, as many schools do. But we had those where you go with people who maybe you're not best friends with, and you have these experiences like dog sledding or canoeing, and you're able to make different connections and have a different community in those different atmospheres. That is something that I would stress to prospective families.

Another reason that I would recommend the school is the amount of extracurriculars that are at the school. And I remember there was a Prefect who did a speech, all the Prefects do speeches. I distinctly remember this speech because it really spoke to me at the time …. BSS has allowed me to explore so many different opportunities. Sometimes people think, “Oh, I have to be the best at hockey, I have to be the best at one particular thing.” But this girl was saying, You know what? It's also just as beneficial to try a bunch of different things and see what you like best. After hearing that speech, I tried to emulate that as well and try as much as I could.

Another reason for my recommendation is that BSS facilitates this bonding experience, not only for your specific class, but for different age groups.

There are specific traditions that follow throughout the whole year. You can do choir, and there are these nice traditions that only the people in the choir do. And there are so many things like that for all of the different clubs and houses and get to learn all the niche chairs. And so I think that having those really diverse opportunities is so meaningful.

I think that the facilities themselves are so lovely. I remember walking in Grade 7 and I saw a rock climbing wall, and I was shocked. I didn't know schools were able to have rock climbing walls inside… And we went rock climbing a handful of times in gym class. There was a rock climbing club. The facilities are even better than they were when I was there. And having those opportunities, I'm so thankful to have had them growing up. And it was such a memorable experience for me. I think that any person would be able to find something that they love at the school.

I think that my piece of advice for somebody coming into the school, whether it's in the entry years, like grade seven or grade nine, or maybe an off year, is to really take advantage of the people who are around you and what you can do at the school. I think that the experience is really what you make of it, which sounds corny, but it's true. You can really take advantage of so many different things and really putting yourself into a position where you can make those strong connections and where you can have those fun experiences is so wonderful… And it's such a supportive, relaxing environment that it feels like it makes it easy to really do those things.