Student Sutra Chakma Finds Sisterhood While Studying Art And Physics at Miss Hall’s School Through ASSIST

By Camille Wilson

Sutra Chakma

The internationally recognized Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is dedicated to inspiring their all-girl student body to achieve excellence in both learning and character. More specifically, their mission aims “to contribute boldly to and creatively to the common good; and to seek a purposeful life based on honor, respect, growth, and personal authenticity.” 

In short, the school produces nothing less than promising young students—and ASSIST Scholar Sutra Chakma took the time to chat with us about how much she is enjoying her time studying art and physics there. As for her future plans, she’s already thinking of ways to merge her love for those two disciplines. 

“I’m taking an art program called Hallmark Art Intensive,” she explains. “It’s the highest level of art you can take. I love art, so I’m thinking about doing that for my career—but I’m not completely sure, I might combine it with something else. I might do architecture. I like to design things, I like art and drawing things. I also love doing math, and studying physics and architecture is always evolving and changing. That’s something that I’m really interested in.”

Sutra is one of the first Scholars to be connected to ASSIST through RISE: an international award program that supports bright young people (aged 15-17) in need of opportunitIes as they work to serve others, regardless of nationality, background, or academic experience. Through partnerships with other global institutions and organizations, RISE is able to discover talented young people, and connect them with the right resources to fulfill their individual goals. This year marks the beginning of an official partnership between RISE and ASSIST. 

For Sutra, attending Miss Hall’s is a big shift from her life in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Her class sizes are now much more intimate, and she sees her classmates as people she can depend on—so much so that she calls them her “sisters.” According to Sutra, even the American way of measuring student success is new territory.

“It [Miss Hall’s School] is very different from my school in Bangladesh,” she states. “My school there had 10,000 students, and Miss Hall’s is only around 200 students, so it’s very small and all the students know each other. And there’s a strong connection. We’re all like sisters and we’re extremely supportive of each other. Whenever you need help you don’t even have to say it—they’re already there to help. They encourage girls to do whatever they want to do, and then provide support. On Wednesdays I do internships, I do the school newspaper, I do vocal ensemble and theater, and I do, like, 10 different clubs on campus. I don’t really do off-campus activities much because I don’t have the time. The learning experience is also  very different from Bangladesh. In America they grade you more on assignments and class engagement. In Bangladesh it was all test-based. Three or four times a year we would have a big test for each class, and that would determine whether you pass or fail.”

Initially, one of the biggest pushes for her to pursue opportunities to study abroad was to create a stronger social life for herself—something that she felt was lacking at home. “Back in Bangladesh, I was at home most of the time, and I didnt have many friends at school. In America, they place a lot of emphasis and importance on social life, and in Bangladesh they do not. And because I’m an indigenous girl, I wasn’t very popular. I didn’t have a great social life, as Bangladesh is not as diverse as America. So I spent a lot of time inside, and I craved social connection. I really wanted to go outside and see more of the world. And one way to do that was to look into global exchange opportunities.”

In spite of having a difficult social life at home, Sutra is excited about the prospect of sharing what she’s learned with her close friends and family. And they’ve kept in-touch throughout her time at Miss Hall’s. “My parents and friends message me on Instagram and I talk to them on a regular basis,” she expresses.“And I think they’ll be excited to hear everything I’ve learned.”

Sutra will graduate from Miss Hall’s School in 2023.