Senior Taylor Tee is set to graduate from St. Ed’s on May 28 and shortly thereafter settle on an east coast far away and vastly different from the shoreline of Vero Beach.
Taylor will attend the University of St. Andrews on the east coast of Scotland, in the Kingdom of Fife. She plans to take a course of study there that matches the interests she developed at St. Ed’s.
Her journey to Scotland also adds another chapter to a family migration that has already transcended barriers and borders. The globe has indeed gotten smaller and the Tee family tale is now entirely typical of modern-day America.
“My dad grew up in Indonesia and moved to the United States when he was about 9,” Taylor said. “He moved around a couple of times but I would say he primarily lived in D.C. growing up. My mom is from the Philippines and moved to Canada as a teenager before coming to the United States.
“I was born in Vero Beach and I’ve lived here my entire life. I enjoyed my time at St. Edward’s, and even though I’ve never been at any other school, I honestly think this was the best education I could get. It definitely paid off and I’m happy where I’m going.
“But I’ve been at St. Edward’s since kindergarten, so I really don’t know anything else.”
What she does know is that sports played an essential role in her development in the years before graduation. Her primary focus was always academics, but the volleyball and tennis courts provided emotional equilibrium and served as a primer for self-improvement.
Taylor experimented a bit before settling on volleyball as her main sport in high school. She specialized mostly as a libero for either the JV or varsity through all four years.
“I started playing lacrosse in ninth grade, but it was too serious,” Taylor told us. “I knew that I wasn’t going to make such a big commitment for something that I wanted to do just for fun. So I tried tennis because I can carry on with tennis 20 years from now if I want to. I was not very good but it was fun to go out there with my friends and strive to improve.
“For me sports was becoming a member of a team and trying to contribute. I wasn’t really looking at any sport to continue to play it in college. But on a personal basis I always wanted to improve in any sport I played. And sports just made my high school experience – and just school in general – so much more fun.
“One thing I like about sports is that it gives you a completely different focus from school work. You get to go out and be active and build relationships with your teammates. It’s also really fun to just play, go to tournaments, and all of that.
“It’s a nice big change from just doing school work. You try to make yourself better in your position or role on the team. It’s nice company to be in and a good way to wind down.”
Every high school graduate about to leave home for college stares into a fog of uncertainty, but the coping process was already underway for Taylor. She cited one possible example from volleyball.
“When I was a freshman I was the youngest player on the team, and definitely the most scared. We were playing a really good team to the point that I was terrified. I went into the game and I wanted do my very best.
“Then I had a good moment. I made a really good save (dig) and it felt like the best thing ever at the time. I said to myself ‘oh my gosh’ and it was really a lot of fun.”
She cited that one single play four years ago as her most memorable high school sports experience. It was not a state championship or MVP award, but it was enormous as a confidence-builder.
Sports will hardly be the top priority for Taylor at St. Andrews, but she has come to respect the importance of remaining physically active and staying in shape. So she might try club volleyball or something new like field hockey or rowing, but time away from her International Studies major will be the determining factor.
“I was a member of the Model United Nations Club since eighth grade. I went to Dublin, Chicago and Montreal. That’s what got me into the idea of diplomacy and foreign affairs. I like the program at St. Andrews and the lifestyle for students really appeals to me. And my friend Olivia Hendren (St. Ed’s Class of 2015) really loves it there.
“This will be the first really big change I’ve gone through. It will definitely be life-changing. It will be scary, but it will also be like an adventure.”
She will also have international company by the thousands. About half of the 8,000 students at St. Andrews (founded in 1413) are from outside the UK.
