Shannon Lee '19 (center) with her host family in Spain.
In her four years at Berkshire, Shannon Lee ’19 has always been willing to take a risk.
As a freshman, Lee took flight lessons during a Pro Vita aviation trip to Florida. A swimmer, she joined Berkshire’s junior varsity soccer and hockey teams to “try something new.” Now a senior, she’s considering attending college in Scotland, or Australia, or even taking a gap year to travel and work.
But one experience in particular—a School Year Abroad (SYA) in Spain during her junior year—seems to have had the most profound impact on her.
“I was so used to my surroundings (at Berkshire),” Lee, a Great Barrington, Mass. native, recently shared during an all-school assembly. “I was feeling really, really comfortable and so I wanted to take a risk, to go on an adventure and have new experiences, to live in a new place with a family I’ve never known.”
Living in Zaragoza (roughly halfway between Barcelona and Madrid), Lee found herself immersed in the Spanish culture. Although she initially felt homesick, Lee quickly adapted to her new surroundings and embraced the challenge of living so far from home, and with strangers. It wasn’t long before she was fluent in the language and grew a deep appreciation for Spanish traditions, such as siesta.
Lee enjoys a moment at the beach during her year abroad in Spain.
“My experience really pushed me, it really made me uncomfortable. I knew that that was how I was going to grow; learning how to embrace the discomfort and the humility of it all, the curiosity. I’m a lot more confident in who I am, and expressing that in my own way,” she says.
Now back at Berkshire for her senior year, Lee keeps in close touch with her host family. She's also working closely with Languages Department Chair Jesús Ibáñez on an independent study centered on the Spanish culture and linguistics. Her college essay is a personal reflection of her time abroad.
In addition to her classes, Lee also finds time to sing in Berkshire's chorus and is a member of the mediation club, an activity that helps her stay present in the moment.
“The important thing is I’m really happy where I am,” Lee says.