I sleepily rise from bed to silence my blaring 6:00 a.m. alarm, hoping not to awaken the rest of my family, who can sleep in for a little longer. After putting together my lunch, backpack, and what looks close enough to a Westridge uniform, I grab my monkey keychain and say my ‘I love you’s before hopping into my 2012 Acura MDX and sending a small wish into the universe that the 210 freeway will have slightly less traffic than usual and that I can get to school in under 90 minutes. If I leave the house by 7, I’ll get to school just in time for A Block Chinese IV.

Over the years, many school friends and teachers have asked me why I stay at Westridge despite my long, exasperating commute. I usually redirect the question, saying that I moved during the pandemic and lived closer to school when I was originally accepted to Westridge in 6th grade. However, now that I have 2.5 hours a day to myself to ponder questions like this, I’ve realized that I stay at Westridge despite my commute because I am committed to Westridge. At Westridge, I have amazing friends, a lot of opportunities to perform and write, and fun classes with teachers who care about me. Still, sometimes the drive gets to me and I forget why I—or anyone else—would want to spend over two hours driving each day just to get to and from school. 

But I’m not the only one.

Although the majority of Westridge students live around 5–8 miles away, the number of students with 20+ mile commutes has increased in the past five years. Director of Admission Dr. Margaret Shoemaker said, “This phenomenon is new-ish. Back in the day, everybody came from the neighborhood, but now we have seen such a reduction in school-aged children in the area. People are coming from further and further.”

“I live about an hour from school but have gotten used to the early schedule,” 5th grader Xana P. said.

Because more students are commuting to Westridge from different cities, a wider range of families are now being introduced to the idea of sending their children to Westridge. “If a family lives out there and comes here, that educates families out there about our school and about the possibility of being a student here, and that commuting is possible depending on the right variables,” Dr. Shoemaker said. Though the exact number has not been calculated for this school year, around 80 zip codes and 180 schools are represented in the Westridge student body.

Despite living 25 miles away, new student Selina L. ’28 was drawn to Westridge by the positive environment. However, when Selina was admitted to Westridge, her family began the search for a home closer to the school. “My dad didn’t want to commute all that way, neither did I!” she said.

For those who cannot relocate or commit to a commute, carpooling is an option. Spyglass staffer Isis L. ’28, carpools to school with a Mayfield student.

It’s not a small price to pay in time and gas, as many students will attest. Commuting does impact the life and wellbeing of students. Maria Guenther-Ianotti ’24, who attended Westridge from grades 7–10 and is currently a freshman at the University of California Berkeley, had a commute of 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on traffic. On top of the commute, Maria also played on Westridge’s soccer team and did club soccer outside of school, which were both time commitments. “Ultimately, I ended up leaving Westridge partly because of the commute, simply because it made it harder to see friends as often as I’d liked, and because it made it more difficult to manage the amount of time I had to do homework with the workload,” Maria said.

Another concern that comes with long commutes is getting to school late. Although all students are encouraged to get to school on time, it can be difficult for students with longer commutes to make it to class because traffic is an uncontrollable variable. 

Although commuting to school comes with some challenges, all prospective students are encouraged to apply to Westridge, no matter where they live. “I want to encourage all the families to look at us. I don’t want to pretend that distance is not an issue, so I just encourage them to think about it,” Dr. Shoemaker said. While encouraging, she always asks families how a commute would make sense for them.

For new 9th grader Suehailey C., an hour-long commute to Westridge is worth it. She was recommended to Westridge by Upper School History Teacher Ms. Jennifer Cutler, a family friend. “My parents drive, and I do homework the whole time, so it works out,” Suehailey said. So far, she enjoys Westridge and hopes to stay for the remainder of her high school experience.

In some ways, students with long commutes must be extra committed to Westridge in order to make the time sacrifice worth it. It’s worth noting that those students and families are also extra important to the school. “We need to attract kids from all over because there aren’t enough kids in Pasadena. If we didn’t [have commuters], we wouldn’t be operational because there aren’t enough kids in Pasadena to fill the school,” Dr. Shoemaker said.

Ms. Sarah Jallo, Assistant Head of School for Strategic Priorities and Enrollment Management, spoke to the importance of geographic diversity. “The big thing is that we have a diverse student body. And that is diverse in all ways so it’s not just your racial or ethnic background, but geography and what type of school you came from because if we just have a homogenous group of kids here who live within two miles of the school and went to the same ten schools before they came to Westridge, that’s not providing much breadth of perspective and experience that we want all of you to benefit from,” Ms. Jallo said.

My normal commute consists of 28 miles, 21 Taylor Swift songs, and hundreds of thoughts. At mile three, I’m whining about how long it’s going to take. At mile five I’m planning a day’s worth of conversations. At mile ten I’m singing my heart out to “All Too Well (10 minute version) [Taylor’s Version].” Even though I have to wake up a little earlier and be in the car a little longer, I’ve learned to appreciate my commute over my five years at Westridge. The longer my drive, the more time I have to get excited about the day full of friendships and opportunities waiting for me. At every mile, I am reminded that I drive so far for a reason.