On Campus: Living in 3H

By Michaela Crabtree-Crowley ’22
​Hi, I'm Michaela Crabtree-Crowley. Welcome to my crib.

As a Sixth Form student who has boarded all four years at Westminster, I can confidently say that dorm life is one of my, if not most, favorite things about Westy. On tours, panels, and in conversations with prospective students, whenever I am asked about my favorite spot on campus, my answer is always the same; my room. So why do I love my room so much? Well, I'll tell you.
 
I live in room 3H at the end of the hall on the top floor of Edge House. This is my second year living in Edge and living in the same room. In my Fifth Form, during peak Covid restrictions, dorm rooms became more homelike than they ever had before. After spending hours a day doing nothing but sit in my room with my roommate, Elle Dorrian ‘22, 3H became more of a home than I ever thought it would be. We loved it so much that we decided we couldn't bear to part with it for our final year at Westy. Although it is not a common request, Mr. Rasheed, the Dean of Student Life, thankfully understood our connection to our room and
allowed us to stay for another year.
 
There are so many things I love about 3H. I love the way the walls slant upwards, making hanging posters both a burden and a workout. I love how my bed perfectly fits into the window nook, giving me a front seat to barnyards and stickball games alike. I love the giant soy sauce stain from a Table 570 order gone wrong. But mostly, I love my closet. That may sound funny, but my closet is easily the best thing about living in 3H. It is one of two closets that I'm aware of that are walk-ins. For size reference, it is about ⅚ of an Elle Dorrian wide (she is 5'5) and precisely two Elle Dorrian’s long. It is so big it has its own light switch and sprinkler, and it's even big enough to fit a bed into it (yes, I've checked). It makes a double feel somewhat like a triple, and it is the best room in Edge. Although it constantly smells of shoes and sweaty field hockey shin guards, there is no better place to take a personal phone call or plan out the next day's outfit. While Elle and I are quite biased towards loving our room and especially our closet, it is quite a common opinion shared by those in Edge house. We are often told how lucky we are and how jealous others are that we got the room with “the closet."
 
While my roommate and I love our room now, there was some speculation before we moved in. Our room was deemed “haunted,” and we heard rumors of the “Edge Ghost” living in 3H. There was a consistent pattern of the girls who lived in our room leaving under various circumstances, feeding into this rumor. But, last year was the first year in at least four years where that curse didn't renew itself. Elle and I were congratulated by former tenants of 3H, applauded for breaking the so-called curse.
 
There are so many reasons to love living in 3H. It has become my home over the past two years, and I am honest when I say it'll be one of the hardest goodbyes to come this May. Of course, it is cliche, but your dorm does become your home, and your hall mates become your family. When I look back at my time at Westminster, of course, I will remember all the students and faculty who made my time here unforgettable, but I will always look back and think of 3H and living in Edge.