“Before Northwood, my main sport was rugby. It’s pretty big in Canada, but at my school, it kind of slowed down for a while. My stepsister played when it was still strong, and I always looked up to her. You aren’t allowed to start until your third year of high school, so I spent a long time waiting to finally play. When I got the chance, I really loved it, and it became my sport. My team wasn’t the best because most people were younger, and the school didn’t want to push the sport because it’s dangerous and has a lot of risk. We had to recruit a lot. We lost a lot of games because we were such a young team, but the spirit we had made everything so fun. There were so many games where it was pouring rain and freezing, and we still laughed the whole time. One of my favorite moments was when I won awards from the team. I was co-captain with one of my teammates, and I won right back down. That meant so much to me.
“I’m an RA this year, and I’m on Head’s Council. I applied to be an RA last year because I wanted to participate more in my dorm and get to know new people better. I thought it would help me be more involved, and it has. Head’s Council was something I joined a little later, after talking to someone about wanting to be part of it. I wanted to have more of a role in the school and contribute wherever I could.
“When I think about moments where I felt like a leader, it’s mostly through CARE. I think I have a big impact there. I’m the oldest one, and I feel like I have a good role in keeping things organized and helping the younger students. I try to be someone people can come to if they need it.
“I’ve also traveled a lot. One of the trips I did before coming to Northwood was to Peru. I went alone for two months, and I lived with a host mom. Every day, I would volunteer and work in an orphanage. That trip pushed a lot of growth in me. It made me realize so many things about my life and what I value, and it’s an experience I’ll carry with me forever.
“This year, my biggest project is finishing my 77-hour New York State real estate course. Even though I can’t get licensed because I’m not a U.S. resident, I wanted to do it for the learning part and for the discipline. Doing that much work while being at Northwood is a challenge, but it’s something I really want to complete.
“I know I might not be the most social person, and I know not everyone gets to know me well, but I hope people remember that I cared about the school and cared about my friends. I hope they remember me as someone who was there if anybody needed it.”
As told to Jacob Slagel ’26. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.
