Facing financial pressures

Hockaday has longstanding and appreciated traditions that often place pressure on students struggling with income disparity to participate.

Cristiana Miele, a class of 2022 alum who was on financial aid, saw these pressures manifested on free dress days. Miele appreciated having a uniform because each student wore the same thing.

“No matter how much money you have, it’s all the same, but on free dress days, there’s that big disparity and you can tell,” Miele said. With the high level of competitiveness at the school, she also began stressing about how much money she would have to pay for her college education. Yet smaller things, like the pressure to look nice or wear expensive jewelry as other students did, added extra weight for Miele.

Because Miele was on a higher amount of aid than some students, she was able to have a class ring and some “senior swag” items paid for by the school. However, Miele also worked for $9 an hour at Chick-fil-A the summer of her junior year and throughout her senior year. She was working not only to pay for gas but also to save up enough money for her white blazer.

“I would walk around and everyone would be wearing senior sweatpants, shorts and T-shirts, and they would have the water bottle,” Miele said. “They had literally everything that was senior merch, and it was a little bit stressful to see that. But I was also grateful because the school paid for some, so I wasn’t completely left out.”

Although the school ensures each student participates in ring day, winter formal and senior prom, other optional expenses can feel essential to a student. Among these are group T-shirts, advisory snacks, gift exchanges and off-campus senior lunch.

Head of Upper School Lisa Culbertson said 26 years ago, during her time as a Hockaday student, students were constantly holding T-shirt sales. Almost three decades later, pressure to participate in sales like these still affects students like Miele.