Growing up speaking Mandarin in Singapore. Living in the suburbs of London. Bonding with Tom Cruise’s daughter at an elite school in New York. Meshing into the academic bustle of the Bay Area. To Phoebe Castle (12), whose parents are Australian, moving across worlds is nothing new. 

“I had the well-roundedness from my school in New York and I had the culture from Singapore and London,” Phoebe said. “I think coming here to Harker made me the most well-rounded I could be because I had the academics and everything. Moving around has given me a ton of new perspectives and the ability to be open-minded to a lot of different opinions and perspectives.”

Because of her frequent childhood moving and ever-busy current life where she juggles school and athletics, Phoebe has developed a routine of anchoring herself, which she believes to be paramount in performing her best. Returning to in-person school after online learning added some strain to her mental health, so she nurtured her hobby of drawing, a calming reprieve for her. 

“What’s really important to me is centering myself: I draw a lot,” Phoebe said. “I was trying to figure out how to calm myself going back to school because I was really stressed. I was scared, I hadn’t been to class in person in so long. And so I turned to drawing for that. I think it’s important to find an outlet for your stress so you don’t explode.”

Close friend Rhiannon Sikand (12) has observed how Phoebe’s relationship with art has evolved over time. When they first became close in high school, Phoebe was hesitant to share her art with others. Rhiannon is glad that Phoebe has since spread her wings in art. 

“She had always been private about it, but recently, she’s been showing me her art and submitting it for competitions,” Rhiannon said. “That’s something I really like to see because it shows that she’s gaining more confidence in her abilities to create.”

Phoebe struggled with her perfectionism in regard to both art and academics. However, through her drawing journey, she has come to realize that every artist has a different style and creates pieces that are not quite the same as anyone else’s, but not inherently less good. 

“Drawing has definitely taught me that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be good,” Phoebe said. “I think that through my failures in art, I’ve learned that just because it doesn’t look how I imagined it or it didn’t turn out how it was supposed to, that doesn’t make it bad or worthless. It just makes it different. And I think that really helps with my flexibility. Especially at Harker, it’s hard to be so rigid because things often don’t go your way, especially in classes.”

Close friend Sarah Westgate (12) values how although Phoebe puts an emphasis on her schoolwork and can seem straitlaced at times, Phoebe never fails to make her laugh. Phoebe and Sarah use humor as a means to move on from difficult events, such as when they were in a minor car accident together on the day of matriculation this school year. Sarah appreciates the extent to which Phoebe makes her friends feel comfortable.

“She’s a very smart person who cares a lot about her academics,” Sarah said. “She’s also very bubbly and energetic. She doesn’t always show people that side of herself, but she definitely can be very energetic and extroverted. She’s very funny; she makes people laugh a lot.”

Through participating in art, rowing, Dungeons & Dragons and even Mandarin class, Phoebe cultivates countless community spheres around her. Phoebe’s rowing team has become one of her most important groups. Although she fractured her knee last year and is currently cross-training instead, her group of rowing friends helped her feel at ease during difficult times. 

“After spending six years with the same people on the team, you have school or work, you have home and then you’re supposed to have a third place,” Phoebe said. “It was my third place. I would go there straight after school and I’d spend three or four hours with these people. It was kind of an escape from the stress of school and home.”

Phoebe appreciates the teamwork that the sport promotes. As an exercise in coordination and cooperation, rowing gave Phoebe the opportunity to participate in a constructive, team-oriented activity and build another community there. 

“I would say exercise is important, but I think having a team is really important as well. That team environment — I feel at Harker you don’t get that so much because for a lot of us, it’s very competitive. But it felt good to have that community around me.”

Another community Phoebe took solace in was her Mandarin class from sixth grade to freshman year. Coming from Singapore where she originally learned the language, Phoebe enjoyed seeing her and her classmates grow together, with regard to Mandarin and without.  

“I think that taking that class was honestly really good for me because I stayed with the same 12 people all four years,” Phoebe said. “Every other class, you change and get new people. But this one class — it was a really specific dynamic that I’m glad I had because it really felt like a community. I think that was a really good experience for me: just watching like our little sixth-grade class turn into freshmen who help each other any chance we can.”

Chemistry teacher Mala Raghavan, Phoebe’s advisor, believes that Phoebe’s maturity is particularly remarkable among her peers. Dr. Raghavan appreciates how she will often take a pause to assess situations and make sure everyone feels included in conversations. 

“Sometimes they’re lost, but she’s aware of her surroundings,” Dr. Raghavan said. “[She’s mature in] how she handles things. She’s very polite and will always say ‘thank you’ and things like that; just the way she responds is nice to see.”

Her friend group formed years ago has also stayed together and forged stronger bonds throughout high school. Phoebe values the support her friends give even when faced with difficult situations and how they have shaped her into someone more positive and upbeat. 

“I’m actually still with my middle school friend group, which is kind of crazy,” Phoebe said. “I’ve literally watched these people grow up and they’ve watched me grow up. Even for the people who joined in high school, it feels like we’ve known them for a long time. And so there’s like a feeling of closeness; it feels like no matter what happens, you’re always going to be there.”

In order to spend more time with her friends who played, Phoebe joined the Dungeons & Dragons Club despite having no particular interest in the game beforehand. Rhiannon believes her connection to her friends, which manifested in her decision to join the club, is a commendable trait to learn from. 

“I think that’s admirable, doing something that you don’t necessarily love or you wouldn’t have done otherwise, but it gives you an opportunity to spend time with the people you care about and to show them that you value what they are interested in,” Rhiannon said. 

With the diverse array of activities that Phoebe participates in, she continually finds it valuable to have a force that stabilizes her mind and her life. At an ever-changing school and in an ever-changing world, Phoebe uses art to take a step back. 

“Without art, I’d be a lot more strung up,” Phoebe said. “Art has been important to me throughout my whole life, even if I’m not doing anything with it professionally because it’s an outlet. Drawing is a pretty big reliever from all of this.”