I’m Benedetta, but everyone calls me Benni. I am a skier from Rome, Italy. This is my first year at Northwood and I am a senior. I’m really enjoying this experience at Northwood so far; I love American school and think it’s great. I think Northwood has been a really great experience for me. This year has been a struggle for everybody trying to be safe, but also open things. I think it’s been a struggle for us kids being 17-year-old stuck in a pandemic, but Northwood is doing a good job balancing keeping us safe and letting us enjoy our experience because of course it’s tough. It’s tough not being able to do everything we want to do, but even so, it’s my first year here and I‘m loving it. I love how here at Northwood I can balance my athletics and my academics in the same place, something I‘ve never been able to do. It’s been so great here. It’s not easy, but I have a huge support system here.
At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t even thinking about applying to college in the US, but then coming here I loved the American system and I think it’s very supportive and I decided to give it a shot, so I applied to some colleges and wrote my essays, and it has been tough but there has been a lot of people around the college office helping me. I didn’t even know what the University or College applications system was like, so being able to have the help is great. I hope I get in and my plan is to go to college and get into the ski team and continue to ski D1 in college.
As told to Mackenzie Hull ’21. Photo provided.
