Sydney Kuder ’25. Photo: Bates College Athletics.
In my very biased opinion, the Northwood Class of 2025 is the greatest Northwood Class of all time. They were the largest graduating class in the school’s history and included top athletes, students, and great people. One person who checked all these boxes from last year’s class was Sydney Kuder ’25.
At the end of last year, Kuder committed to continuing her academic and athletic careers at Bates College, a small liberal arts school in Lewiston, Maine. Bates, a Division 3 athletic school in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), has a Division 1 ski program that Kuder joined as an alpine skier. When we talked to her, she was preparing for her first race at Sunday River. Her goal for the season is to be one of the top 7 on her team so she can compete in college carnival events, which are races between the colleges.
Kuder also represents the ski team on the student athletic advisory committee. Every other week, the committee meets, and the representatives relay information from their respective teams and share the meeting’s contents with their own teams. The group is also responsible for many fundraisers and community activities aimed at supporting the local Lewiston Community.
Academically, she felt very prepared and even said it’s “easier than Northwood.” She attributes much of this to Reno and his AP Lit class that she took last year. “It really improved my writing, and it’s really showing in some of my essays—my professors have been impressed.” The transition to Bates was not difficult for her, as she had been a boarding student for four years and was already adjusted to dorm life. She said the two schools are very similar. “The schedule is basically the same, and our workouts are similar.”
Sydney has yet to declare a major but is considering a double major in politics and Spanish. Then, she is considering going to law school.
When Kuder isn’t on the hill or in the classroom, she likes to be an active member of the Bates and Lewiston communities. “I’m a mentor at the Auburn Middle School, where once a week, I have a girl in seventh grade, and I just sit with her and hang out with her for a little bit. We try to be role models for kids. The point is to engage with kids in the Lewiston-Auburn communities and get them thinking about getting a college education.”
Kuder also writes for the Bates Student, the college’s student-led newspaper, as a sportswriter. “It came naturally after my time as Co-Editor of the Northwood Mirror. It’s the reason I joined the paper.”
According to Kuder, Bates is very similar to Northwood, except it’s bigger and has more opportunities. One thing Kuder does miss is the town of Lake Placid. Current Northwood students should “take advantage of the beautiful town and place they live. Not all college towns will have what Lake Placid does.” She also says, “It goes by fast, so don’t take it for granted. Try everything you can, and if you apply yourself at Northwood, it sets you up for success in the future.”
“I have another thing for seniors: Don’t stress about getting into your dream school. What’s meant for you will come for you. My dream school was Williams, and I even considered applying ED. I didn’t get in, and I honestly had never really looked at Bates, and the coach never responded to my emails for a long time. I ended up getting in on academic merit alone, and my coach reached out to the Bates coach. I ended up getting an offer, and I really liked it. I’m really, really happy with my decision, and I honestly could not see myself anywhere else. Just remember, it’s all going to work out.”
