FRENDY: What is boarding school like? What makes it so different than regular schools?
SIR JULIEN: I mean, at boarding school, you’re with your friends and teachers all on one campus. Imagine sleepaway camp 24/7. It was beyond draining at times. In contrary, boarding school is the ideal preparation for college in high school. We were required to wake up, go to class on time, play a mandatory sport, manage homework, manage social life, and follow the rules, all without your parents. Obviously these tasks aren’t too much to ask me now, but as a junior in high school, I didn’t realize how dependent and entitled I was. Boarding school is the origin of the Upper East Side teenage scandals. I could tell you some insane boarding school stories! The access that we had was concerning looking back at it—there were for sure some Lindsay Lohans.
FRENDY: What is the craziest thing you witnessed or experienced in boarding school?
SIR JULIEN: Hmmm…that’s a tough one. There’s been some crazy shit that has gone down. There was a herpes situation that still shocks to me to this day.
FRENDY: *Laughs* Gotdamn! now this is getting good. So, boarding school doesn't necessarily mean that it’s in some deserted area?
SIR JULIEN: Ohhhh. Most times when I tell people that I went to boarding school they ask “What did you do wrong?” I didn’t go to military school, which is typically a result of a bad ass kid. Boarding School is honestly just an elite private school experience. Imagine a $60K education for a high school student—that’s boarding school. These schools are so competitive, too. I have seen some applicants gift some of the most elaborate things to faculty to bribe their kid in. It’s like a secret little society.
FRENDY: Were you majoring in anything specific? Or was it fundamentally like HS where there isn’t a need to study a particular subject?
SIR JULIEN: It was like high school in the sense of average class requirements, but there were some additional classes offered that could be geared to the majors we chose in college, which helped our transcripts stand out. The school did implement something called the ‘Harkness Table’, which is a circular table that allows for round table discussions. So instead of our teachers writing things on a whiteboard regurgitating facts to us, they were much more involved.
FRENDY: Which boarding school did you graduate from?
SIR JULIEN: Suffield Academy.
FRENDY: Are you still friends with some of your boarding school mates?
SIR JULIEN: Yes, for sure. I still talk to people from Suffield everyday.
FRENDY: That’s awesome. Which college are you currently attending? And why did you choose that particular school?
SIR JULIEN: I’m studying abroad in Florence, Italy at Lorenzo de’ Medici. I remember talking to my friend Danielle debating it and she was like, ‘You can go to college in Italy and you’re debating for what?’. She was right, so I basically said ‘Yolo’ and went for it. I appreciate the precedence I set for myself by leaving Woodward to go to Suffield. Looking back at it, my life has been a continuous elevation education-wise.
FRENDY: Amazing. Did you choose a major yet?
SIR JULIEN: I decided to major in Communications and Public Relations. I had already known that I was going to major in that since about Sophomore year in high school. I have my own public relations and branding firm, Viral PR Group. Sometimes I feel like I know everything, but education is still very essential. It doesn’t hurt to learn more and perfect your craft.
FRENDY: What was the inspiration behind your choice of major?
SIR JULIEN: I really just took my strong points and passion of public relations and made a business out of it. I have always been well spoken; never intimidated to hold a conversation. I have always spoken with a sense of confidence. It is something that has impressed people so much due to the fact that unfortunately, people don’t picture young African American men positively. I want to help change that and be a different type of example, so that’s how I chose my major.