Lisa Wei '26
Nov 3, 2023
As many students at Mercersburg Academy know, it is rare to maintain a harmonious relationship with your roommate… especially for four years. This year, there are three pairs of four-year roommates in the Class of 2024: Crystal Yuen and Catherine Kidd; Erika Sowah and Olivia Wetzel; and Haris Yahaya and Dave Nguyen.
Many of the four-year roommate pairs suggested how communication helped with their relationship. “I think it's really important that [roommates] try to work through their differences early, and not let the small issues become problems,” said Yuen.
There are other factors, such as compatibility, which help strengthen relationships between the four-year roommates. “Our personalities matched, and we both know and respect each other’s schedules,” said Nguyen. “We’re really similar and we understand each other really well,” said Wetzel.
However, it is also possible to be very different and keep a harmonious relationship throughout the years.“We work together really well despite having different personalities. Like, we both like the room cold and we respect each other,” Kidd said.
Spending so much time together, the roommate pairs have created many memories in the dorms over the years. “My favorite memory was probably Just Dance from last year. We played Just Dance in our room and kept bumping into each other which was really fun,” said Wetzel.
Many favorite memories were made during freshman year. “During quarantine in freshman year, Crystal and I stayed up until 3 AM to write letters to our dorm. We played a lot of music and had a lot of fun. That was probably my favorite memory,” Kidd said. “I remember watching the NBA playoffs freshman year. That was fun,” said Yahaya. “My favorite first memory was probably us binge-watching the Harry Potter series in freshman year because I hadn’t watched it yet so she forced me to watch it. We probably watched like three movies that night,” said Sowah.
Of course, in all roommate relationships, there is always one friend who does better on room checks than the other. “Olivia does better on room checks than me,” said Sowah, laughing as she spoke. “I definitely do better on room checks. We almost failed because of Dave last night,” Yahaya said.