“I have lived in many places: Mexico City, Mexico; Michaleen, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Suzhou, China, but I have been living in Saranac Lake now for the past six years. Other than Portland, where I had lived for 4 years, this is the place I call home. I can’t say that I have a favorite place I have lived in because they are all so different from each other.
“I picked Northwood for its FIRST-level robotics program (they build bigger robots) and the outing club. I was really interested in NOC because I had taken an outing program at North Country School, and I liked it, but mostly, it was because Northwood was super close to home, so I could be a day student. It also helped that at least 4 of my friends from North Country School also went to Northwood.
“I like pretty much any outdoor activity like rock climbing, hiking, camping, mountain biking, kayaking, etc., but I think my favorite outdoor activity would be backpacking. I also like designing and inventing things. For example, I designed a sliding door that turned a corner and a ceiling-mounted bed.
“My favorite year at Northwood would be my junior year because I got to go on many NOC trips such as the climbing trip to Redrocks, NV, and the kayaking LEAP trip to Wales. Both trips were very fun. I was also in the Peak Pathways program that year, which allowed me to build a model airplane and make an idea I had. My senior year has also been going great this year.
“I have been interested in flying for a long time. Both my dad and grandfather (his dad) have their licenses, though neither of them has flown recently, so I wanted to get mine, too. I soloed two years ago, so I have flown alone but haven’t gotten my private pilot license yet. I hope to get it sometime in the future.
“Something most people don’t know about me is that I went to school in Suzhou, China, for 4th grade. Though my Mandarin is now a bit rusty since none of my schools after 4th grade offered Chinese, I am taking Mandarin 1 in the language lab to try to relearn it.
“After high school, I plan to go to college for engineering—specifically, aero/astro engineering. Mostly astro, because I love designing and creating things, and after that hopefully get my private pilot license.”
As told to JT Wint ’25. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.
