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Sibarium '17 to join brother at Yale
It is an uncommon phenomenon at St. Andrew’s for siblings to attend the same college, but that’s exactly what will happen this fall when senior Ely Sibarium ‘17 begins class at Yale College.
Ely will join his brother, Aaron Sibarium ’14, who is currently a junior at the Ivy League school.
“It’s just really nice to have someone I know, a family member there,” Ely said. “Someone to show me the ropes, who knows the college well, who can help me avoid the sense of feeling lost that a freshman can have.”
Aaron said he is looking forward to seeing Ely navigate the school’s culture and find his place at Yale.
“I think it will be fun to run into him and see him in a college environment, both in the proud older brother sense, and because there’s a certain hilarity to having both gone to St. Andrew’s and now going to Yale,” Aaron said.
Aaron, an Ethics, Politics and Economics major, participated in the selective Directed Studies program during his freshman year. Students study the Western canon and write five-page essays every week.
“I was thrilled to realize that I was far from underprepared,” Aaron said. “I was probably one of the more prepared people in most of my classes, in terms of writing and being able to read and think carefully.”
He credits intensive assignments like the Oral History Project with giving him a leg up, but also the time he spent after class conversing with his teachers.
“Just having that one-on-one conversation with a teacher who is older or smarter than you and willing to push you on what you think, that intellectual exercise was really helpful,” Aaron said.
“To have teachers willing to do that with students, that kind of informal discussion and debate, is a better preparation for seminar-style classes than any other structured classroom assignment I can think of.”
Ely agreed, adding that St. Andrew’s has taught him how to present himself and have respectful interactions with teachers.
“You’re encouraged to have close relationships with your teachers, which I think is good because I’ll carry that to college and feel more confident talking to professors,” Ely said.
The brothers said they are looking forward to collaborating on columns in the Yale Daily News, where Aaron is an opinion writer.
For their mother, Laura Govoni-Sibarium, having her sons at the same college means they can share memories from their time at both St. Andrew’s and Yale, similar to how she and her husband, Michael, can share memories of their undergraduate years at UConn.
She said the small school environment of St. Andrew’s and the focus on knowing each student are significant and contributed to her children’s success.
“Through the opportunities that they have here at St. Andrew’s, students are able to actualize their potential and really shine in what they do well,” Govoni-Sibarium said. “I have no doubt that it made a difference, being here versus somewhere else.”
Ely is considering several majors, including biomedical engineering, cognitive science and mathematics and philosophy, and said he is looking forward to continuing to run cross country and play music at Yale.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is a private, coeducational college preparatory day school for students in preschool (Age 2) through grade 12, located in Potomac, Maryland.