“I heard about Northwood through friends already on the ski team here. They told me they liked it, that the boarding school vibe was my type, and that they liked how the team moves to many East Coast races. I knew the school would be a new lifestyle compared to what I had back home.
“Honestly, the [work balance] is much easier here because you get to train and not miss school on the same day. It can get hard in the long run, but in the end, it’s a lot easier to manage than just missing school all the time. I still miss school for ski trips and stuff, but I manage it by talking to my teachers before and talking to them while I’m there if I have questions or anything. Usually, I’m good at keeping up with stuff because I’ll focus on math for a day or two and then switch to English for another day or two. The teachers here are understanding: if they know I’m not ready for a quiz, they’re not gonna make me take it because they’d much rather have me understand the material than just me guessing on everything. They know that I put work into what I do, and they understand if I’m late on homework because I’m trying to understand it more because I missed the material. They’re understanding.
“[When I first came to Northwood], I missed my friends a lot. I missed my family too, but at the same time, it was overwhelming, meeting 200 new people and getting to know everyone, so that’s all I could think about. I was just excited to make friends and meet new people. I missed home but was excited for the two years to come because I liked it. The first two weeks were really fun, because we would go out to the [Northwood] beach, and it was still warm outside. It was a good first month. There was a lot of entertainment everywhere and a lot of new things to do, so I didn’t miss home that much. Obviously, it gets harder during the winter, but it’s never really been that hard for me [to be away from home].
“Honestly, [I’m looking forward to] good times with friends. Last year, last couple of months, just trying to have a good time before graduation. Trying to appreciate everything around me because even something like walking to town, I know I’m going to miss. So doing that, and other stuff too.
“Obviously, the ski camps will be fun [to look back on]. A big part of the Northwood experience is traveling with the people you go to school with. Spring is fun, just because you get to spend it with your friends. Like we work out all the time, and hang out a lot. Every season has its benefit- skiing in the winter is obviously fun. In the fall you get to start working out with the team, and sort of find Northwood again after the summer.”
As told to Gus Garvey ’25. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.
