Colten Murphy

New Feminist Awareness Club

November 14, 2025 by Colten Murphy

AFFA is Northwood’s newest club. AFFA stands for Association for Feminist Action. They represent women and help bring greater awareness to feminism. They donate their earnings to a charity that supports women in underprivileged countries who lack access to education. Eddie Salisbury ‘28 is the founder and president of the club.

When asked what AFFA is, Salisbury said, “AFFA is the Association for Feminist Action, and we’re working to represent women more effectively in our Northwood community.”

The club donated proceeds to Fos Feminista, an organization that protects the health and rights of women and girls worldwide.

When asked why Salisbury started AFFA, he replied with, “At my old school, Riverdale Country School, we had AFFA and some of my friends were in the club, and I decided to join it and I had an enjoyable year and I became really passionate about feminism, so coming to Northwood, I knew that I had to start up a club of my own.”

Finally, when asked about what charity AFFA donates its earnings to, Salisbury said, “At our most recent fundraiser, we ran a bake sale where we raised $120.00 for FOS Feminista, which is a charity supporting women’s reproductive health in underprivileged countries.”

Overall, AFFA proves itself to be a great addition to the Northwood clubs and an excellent help for Feminist support and action. AFFA is available for all Northwood students to join.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

Varsity Fries Rice in 3 Game Series

October 28, 2025 by Colten Murphy

The 2025-26 Varsity Hockey team at the Olympic Center in September 2025. Photo by Jacob Slagel ’25.

This past weekend, Varsity hockey traveled to Rice for its last two games of a three-game series versus the Knights. The first game was played at home, while the other two were at the Knights’ rink in Burlington, Vermont. Varsity ended the three-game series with a sweep: a 6-3 win in the first game, a 7-1 win in the second game, and a final hard-fought battle that ended with a 4-3 win. Three new Northwood students scored their first goals: Jett Travis ‘27, Matthew Kernan ‘27, and Colten Murphy ‘26.

The expectations for the weekend were high. You know, we’re playing Rice, who we just beat six to three. The games before, historically, we played pretty well at their arena, so we felt good going into the game,” Head Coach Jeff Miller said.

Miller was happy with the team’s consistency and discipline. “The highlights for this weekend certainly were how we played on Saturday,” Miller said. “We had all four lines rolling. We played very disciplined hockey. We didn’t have that many penalties, and the boys played together as a team,” added Miller.

The team is on a roll, and the coach is happy. “I’d say collectively on the weekend, we’re very pleased with how the team performed,” Miller said. “Anytime you go on the road, they come out with two road wins. It’s a big accomplishment. This is our fourth win in a row, and the boys are playing really well. They worked really hard for this sweep this weekend, and they deserve all the credit,” Miller added.

Overall, it was a great weekend for the Varsity hockey team. Can’t wait to see how they do next. GO HUSKIES!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Humans of Northwood: Carter Jackson ‘26

October 25, 2025 by Colten Murphy

“My biggest fear as a kid? Spiders. Still afraid of them to this day.

“I started playing soccer because of my brother. When I was a little boy, he started playing soccer before I could walk or talk, so I started playing it after him when I was old enough. I have played other sports—I played basketball in fifth grade. And you know, the person who has the biggest influence on me at Northwood is definitely Coach Moodey. He gives really good lessons and really pushes me to be a better person every day. My biggest worry coming to Northwood? Honestly, just not being able to fit in.”

As told to Colten Murphy ’26. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Cambrie “CREWzes” to Second Place

October 18, 2025 by Colten Murphy

On Saturday of Family Weekend, the Northwood Crew, which currently consists of only one rower, had a race. Cambrie Encalade ’27 placed second, 10 seconds behind first.

“So, Crew is rowing. We have multiple different types of boats here in Northwood, but here it’s more of a club than a sport,” Encalade explained.

Cambrie Encalade ’27. Photo by Ms. Lisa Wint

Cambrie Encalade ’27 (left). Photo by Ms. Lisa Wint

Encalade has been rowing for more than six years, “I started in 5th grade. So, this is my 7th year.” She also stated that rowing has great college opportunities and scholarships, which is one reason she rows.

Encalade said she enjoys the community aspect of rowing. “My favorite parts are the community, meeting different people, and training. It’s like the first sport to really click with me, and I can’t imagine not rowing,” she said.

“This October, we’re going to Head of the Fish in Saratoga. It’s a long course, and there are going to be something like a hundred other teams. I’ll be racing in the single, as I’m the only one on the team.”

Crew is a fascinating sport, and Northwood should have more participants, as it has in the past, so that Crew can continue to be a popular choice at this school. We wish Cambrie good luck in the rest of her training leading up to her big race. Go Huskies!

Lisa Wint, Team Dean, stood on the dock for two hours waiting to cheer on Cambrie, and she took these photos before the start of the race.

Filed Under: Sports

Community Service Club Makes a Difference

October 11, 2025 by Colten Murphy

Sophie Cunniff ’28 flexes her muscles at a recent C.A.R.E. service project. Photo provided.

The C.A.R.E. co-curricular group recently participated in community service, assisting those in need. C.A.R.E. is a community service club that stands for Community, Action, Responsibility, and Empowerment. A significant activity they undertake is assisting local residents in need with chores around the town of Lake Placid.

“I couldn’t really put a definition on C.A.R.E., but if I were to, it’s kind of a club here, more like a program, and we just help out a lot, it’s kind of random,” Sophie Cunniff ’28, a C.A.R.E. member, said. “Like the other day, we helped an elderly couple move wood, and we were doing the clothes thing with the church on Sunday, it’s a lot of stuff overall,” she added.

Will Wong ’27

Aston Ferrillo ’26 and Florence Richard ’26

Students enjoy how the community service connects them to the broader world. “I chose to be in C.A.R.E. because I just wanted to help people and volunteer and become more part of my community,” Cunniff said.

Cunniff enjoyed helping a local couple in need. “The elderly couple lives in Lake Placid, and they have a wood stove, and every year they have to move the wood to the basement, and this year they’ve had a little bit of trouble with that, so Ms. Wint brought us to their house, and we helped move the wood.”

C.A.R.E. has many other service projects in the works. Reach out to Ms. Wint to get involved.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Real World

9/11 Firefighter Serra ’97 Speaks to School on Anniversary

September 25, 2025 by Colten Murphy

Rob Serra ’97 speaks to students about his experience as an FDNY firefighter on 9/11. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge.

On September 11, 2025, on the 24^th anniversary of 9/11 and the terrible events that happened, alumnus Rob Serra ‘97 visited campus to share his personal experiences as a NYFD firefighter on 9/11 with students. Many students who chose to attend the event were able to hear about his horrific experience through his eyes, as well as his firefighting and hockey careers.

After the event, I was lucky enough to conduct a 1-on-1 interview with Mr. Serra. When I asked about the day of 9/11 and when he was on the scene, on “Ground Zero.” I asked about his thought process and whether his actions were instinctual or if he was mentally present.

“I spent a lot of time trying to figure out exactly where I was physically in Manhattan. You know, I grew up in the city, and I couldn’t recognize anything,” Serra said. “I remember thinking how messed up it was. It was clear that it was a very serious situation. You know, at a certain point, I think I did go into shock, which is when everything kind of gets blurred for me. There was a lot of blood. It’s hard to really think, but yeah, I think anyone that has gone through something like that, creates different memories for what actually happened, but that’s just because of your body’s natural defense system.”

Serra ’97 next to his FDNY helmet. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge.

I asked about hockey after 9/11, and if he had any lingering effects, such as physical damage that affected him during hockey. “Yes, that is a great question. Not necessarily at first, but as I got a little bit older, like into my later 20s, I started noticing that I couldn’t recover my breath,” he said. “My face would swell up, which I know now was the sinus polyps, and I noticed I started getting numbness and cramping in my legs. I know now that it is because I have a peripheral neuropathy,” Serra added. “I started noticing it, that’s actually when I started to stop playing for the main FDNY teams because I just physically couldn’t recover anymore, I felt like my muscles weren’t getting oxygen.”

Serra’s FDNY helmet. Photo: Colten Murphy ’26.

When talking about how the passing of his mother during his time at Northwood affected his mental state while playing and if he played for her, he said, “I think initially I did. The year it happened, which was my junior year, I did, and I had a very good year hockey-wise. So yeah, that kind of motivated me, and then when I came back for my senior year, I kind of alluded to it. That time off and that time at home. By the time I came back here, it kind of had the opposite effect. Instead of it motivating me, it made me sadder that she wasn’t here once the initial shock of her passing went away,” Serra added.

The students all appreciated and thanked him for coming and sharing his personal experiences about that day, his service as a firefighter, his hockey career, and his life after.