“Being a freshman and trying to imagine myself four years from then, I just never could really picture myself graduating. Of course, I knew I would, but it always felt so far away. And now that I’m here, it’s like, whoa. My friends—JT, Alex, Colton—they all left, and I remember thinking, “What am I gonna do?” But it’s also a moment for new opportunities. It’s nice to still keep in touch with everyone. I mean, last year was interesting. It was fun, of course, because I was roomed with Alex again—same room, same floor. But I’ve been friends with those guys for, like, three-plus years. This year is different because, of course, they’re gone. There’s a lot more responsibility now, with me going to college and all that kind of scary stuff.
“Also, William’ Will’ Wong ’27 in my hall—he’s a fun time. It’s nice being able to connect with younger students, too. It’s a really good feeling knowing that you have an influence on younger students, especially because when I was a freshman, I always looked up to the older students.
I feel like freshman year, you’re always a lot more awkward and kind of scared of the older kids. But especially now that we’ve been here for four years, it’s a lot easier to talk to people because you’ve been around the block, I guess.
“One of the things that stood out to me was my first day here. Multiple people knocked on my door to say hi and introduce themselves. Something like that felt very different.
“I transferred in after everyone had already been off for a month because of FISU games, so I think that transition helped a little bit. Everyone was already adjusting. This whole photography thing has helped, too, because I got to connect with a bunch of teams. I went around with the soccer team a few times, so I got a lot closer to people.
“Having to switch over to a different co-curricular activity taught me maturity to an extent. Of course, I’m still immature because we’re all kids. But going away from home—I lived in Pittsburgh for a year, then Boston, then went through the whole hip surgery thing—it changes you.
“Coming to the middle of nowhere, Lake Placid, was weird at first. I mean, it’s cool, because with the Olympic facilities and everything, getting to practice and all that, but I just felt so far off from seeing myself graduate. And now I’m here, which is scary.
“The social dynamics have changed, too. In my first year, the friend groups were very distinct. Of course, people still hang out with their teams, especially during meals and stuff like that, but now it feels a lot more open. People go down the hall and say hi to one another. No one’s really ostracized, and everyone seems a lot closer between teams.
“One big thing I try to do is help people whenever I can—cleaning up, pushing chairs in, even when no one’s looking. Just making sure you help whenever you can. And making sure you pass down a good legacy, I guess.
“Northwood is a completely different place. It’s more like a family. I lived in Seattle until sixth grade, then went to Pittsburgh for a year, which was this huge public school with, like, a thousand kids. Then, Boston, because of hip surgery. I’ve had all these completely different experiences across the country, 2,000 miles away from my parents. I think it conditioned me to be independent to an extent.
“Our house is basically a wildlife sanctuary now. We’re, like, two miles away from the city, but somehow we have so much wildlife in our tiny backyard. One raccoon started coming around, and we named it Peanut because it ate a ridiculous amount of peanuts. Then, like, a week later, it brought its babies with it. You’d look outside and see them all walking along the fence, one by one.
“We put out a bowl of water for them because raccoons always wash their food. One time, they flipped the bowl, and all ran away because they scared themselves. Now they come back all the time. The babies are grown-up-ish now, but you can still tell they’re young. We also have a hawk that comes by because of how many birds we have around. I genuinely don’t know how we manage to have this many animals.
“Other than that, over the summer I like taking photos of planes, hanging out with friends, and going on hikes. I’ve always wanted to take photos of stuff, but cameras are expensive. Around November last year, I got my first real camera. Since then, I’ve probably taken hundreds of thousands of photos. I’ve taken photos for most of the teams here.
“Closing out, I’d say take as much advantage of all the opportunities you get. I never thought I’d be published in that compilation [Wild Words Anthology] four times. There was also the PBS film thing, which was really cool. I basically did that last minute after pulling an all-nighter with Alex.
“It’s funny because once you’re older, you can kind of laugh about all the stressful stuff younger students are going through because you know what it’s like—you’ve been there. You get bonded through that shared experience.
“Stay close to your teachers. That’s important because they’re there to help you. If you help them and treat them well, they’re more willing to help you. They want you to succeed. Just don’t be a butt head. Don’t miss the hub bus.”
As told to Sasha Luhur ’27. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.
