On Sunday, April 12, Lake Forest Academy opened its doors as prospective families filled the Cressey lobby for the annual Spring Open House. LFA’s spring open house serves as a chance for families with younger children, usually in 5th through 7th grade, to start thinking about what life would be like in the LFA community.

The open house began as student ambassadors met and talked to attending families. There were refreshments in Cressey, and conversations were flowing. The ambassadors got to talk a little bit about their own experiences at LFA before the tours commenced later that afternoon. Following the social, the families filtered into the theater to hear some opening remarks by Head of School Tom Johnson. After his words, he invited one of the Head Ambassadors, Gavin Bailey ‘26 to the stage. Bailey had a wonderful speech, talking about his experience as an international boarding student, being captain of the prep hockey team and sharing a room with someone from across the world. Following Bailey’s speech, Eden Cortes Villagomez ‘26 wowed the families with a performance of “Losing My Mind.”

After the student speakers and performances, Senior Associate Dean of Admission Kassandra Hayes presented a brief overview of LFA, which included a run through of demographics of LFA, as well as academics and athletics. It gave a concise yet thorough introduction of the Academy. Interim Academic Dean Jessica Kapadia followed Hayes, giving a more detailed description of the curriculum as well as AP classes. The academic section ended with a panel from the department chairs. The chairs spoke on their individual departments, as well as their teaching experience and time at LFA. 

The main event of the open house were the tours led by the student ambassadors. As is with any open house that LFA puts on, the student ambassadors are always the highlight. They show prospective students and families around LFA’s beautiful campus, while sharing their experience and answering any questions they might have. All School President-Elect and student ambassador Maxim Grinberg ‘27 described his tour and open house experience, saying, “It was a wonderful experience to see the interest of many middle schoolers at LFA. The admission team was able to provide a great experience to new and interested student ambassadors, and our tour guides do incredible work showing our campus”. During the event, the ambassadors led their families on either a day or a boarding tour, depending on the interests that the families had. Both tours saw all the highlights of campus, including the new athletic center. The only difference between the day and boarding tours was that the boarding tours saw either Ferry or Atlass Hall, where proctors were in the commons to talk about boarding life at LFA.

The spring open house is the last big event of the year for the admissions team, and it marked a huge year of success for them. Head Ambassador Maya Greenwood ‘26 reflected on her time in the role, saying “My most meaningful commitment has been serving as a Head Ambassador because it allows me to lead an organization that works to build bridges, ensuring everyone has a special place in our community. It has taught me the importance of inclusion, engagement, and empathy, and I strive to coordinate events like Accepted Students Day and Family Weekend, so every new student feels included and accepted”. With the main three events done—the fall open house, admitted students day and the spring open house—the admissions department can set their sights on the coming year. They are all working hard to prepare for the next year of open houses, shadow days and campus tours. Everyone involved does an amazing job connecting LFA to the outside community, and they showed that flawlessly with this years’ edition of the spring open house.