Their friendship had always been full of reflective conversations and advice-giving, so when Nneka came to Naima in the summer of 2023 wanting to start a project to impact their community, success was destined.

They thought back to their freshman year at Andover and realized they both needed more support than was provided to them. 

Naima struggled to acclimate socially and had limited ways to express her new feelings that were specific to the boarding school experience.

Nneka struggled to acclimate academically and could not find resources to plan her time that fit the unique boarding school schedule.

With these two perspectives, they created The (Unofficial) Guide to Boarding School to give future students both an outlet to write their feelings and reflect on the emotional changes they are going through, and to organize their time and succeed academically.

After writing the journal, they contacted child psychologist Dr. Ayanna Quinones to ensure it supports students using strategies backed by science.