# define the list of students per each class

my @room1_pupils = qw( steve mike melissa );
my @room2_pupils = qw( meredith alexa chris );

# create the school, and assign the student lists to each
# hash key

my %school = (
        room1 => \@room1_pupils,
        room2 => \@room2_pupils,
);

# now you can get a list of students by room name (through
# the reference)

my @students = @{ $school{ room2 } };