“I don’t have a favorite color because I feel like all the colors would be sad if I picked one.

“I’m a homebody. I like to stay at home a lot—but I do want to travel. Even though I like to hang out with my friends and family, I also like to have alone time, where I can just be with myself. I like to listen to music. I love to read, maybe watch TV. I’m a cat person, not a dog person, but I still love dogs. I’ve had a lot of pets, but now I only have one dog left….This is sad.

“We used to have two cats, another dog, and a rabbit. We also had a turtle. My parents said he ran away.

“Now I’m just left with the craziest dog in existence, who we thought was normal when we got him, and is not. How is he not normal? He’s afraid of other dogs. But instead of running away, he decides to go crazy, barking and screaming. This made our walks very interesting. And, when he doesn’t get a haircut for a minute, he starts to look like a pom pom—a really dirty pom pom.

“I live in the area, but I started at Northwood my junior year of high school because I was a competitive figure skater up to that point, and I mainly trained down in Jersey. I ended up leaving competitive figure skating and started training down in Boston. I moved clubs and moved coaching teams, and I started training up here and doing FaceTime with my coach. I wanted to return to in-person school for my junior year, especially leading up to college, and I tried to form genuine connections and friendships with people outside my sport.

“From my time at Northwood, last year really stuck with me, especially the trip to Japan. That was insane. I got closer with a lot of people that winter, through skiing and that LEAP trip to Japan. I felt like I formed connections with people on a way deeper level than I would have normally, especially since we were practically living together and seeing each other all the time on that trip. Up to that point, I had felt that gap because I wasn’t a boarder, but now I see myself getting closer with and getting to know people even more than I thought I ever would. My highlight of Northwood is the friendships I made. And I still keep in touch with everyone who graduated or transferred schools, and I see them whenever I can.

“Something a lot of people don’t know about me is that I have a two-year-old sister who I love so, so much. I love to talk about her when she’s brought up. I’m also Bulgarian—both my parents are from Bulgaria, and most of my family is still there.

“I also love traveling. I’ve been to numerous countries, but among them, Italy and Japan are my favorites. I really want to go to Egypt, and I also want to go to China, which I’m planning to do this summer. I really want to go to Egypt to see the new museum they opened. It’s so cool. I also really want to ride a camel and snowboard down the dunes. I also really want to try surfing. That was on my 2025 bucket list, but it didn’t happen, so I’m hoping it happens in 2026.

“I’ve always been into RnB, so that’s mainly the type of music I’ve listened to. I went through a classical music phase where I would bring around a boombox to the rink and blast classical music in other people’s faces, telling them how fire it was. They would tell me that I’m crazy.

“Also, I don’t understand sarcasm. So whenever anyone’s sarcastic, I fully believe them, and it’s very embarrassing, because I’ll be gaslit, and I would never know. So don’t take advantage of me. That’s the end of that.”

As told to Sasha Luhur ’27. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

“I was born in New York City, in the Bronx. We were living there at the time because our apartment in Manhattan was being renovated. We moved back to our apartment in Manhattan when I was a few months old, and I lived there until I was about three. I went to different preschools in the city. For a little bit, I lived with my grandparents in Massachusetts, probably for a few months, and then moved back with my parents. Then we moved to Mexico.

“In Mexico, we lived in three different houses—one in Mexico City and two in Tepoztlán Del Monte. I went to three different schools there, not because of the moves, but that’s just how it worked out. I finished kindergarten in Mexico, then moved to Massachusetts. I have a December birthday, and they had me repeat kindergarten. In Massachusetts, I lived there from age six to nine. I went to Hastings Elementary for kindergarten, first, and half of second grade, and then to Touchstone for the rest of second and third grade.

“From there, I moved back to New York City, to the same apartment in Manhattan, for grades four through halfway into six. In those three years, I went to three more schools: first the United Nations International School, then I switched to a public school around the block in East Harlem, and then to another one after that. The last one, Manhattan East, has been my favorite school I’ve ever been to.

“Halfway through sixth grade, COVID happened. We’d been looking for houses upstate for about a year; we probably looked at over a hundred. My dad’s coworker lived here and invited us to a Mountain Bike Festival. We came, looked at three houses, and my parents fell in love with the first one. They bought it while I was still in sixth grade. We planned to move at the end of the school year, but my dad, who was following the news, foresaw the shutdowns, so we moved mid-year.

“It was hard to enroll me in school here because of COVID, since no one wanted to take students from the city. So, I ended up doing half of sixth grade and all of seventh grade virtually through New York City, even though I was living six hours away from my friends. One of the best weeks of my life was at the end of seventh grade when I went back to New York City for in-person school and finally saw my friends again. I think I peaked in seventh grade.

“Eighth grade, I finally went to Lake Placid Middle School. After that, I switched to Northwood. Before Northwood, the longest I’d ever been at one school was two and a half years. Now, I’ve been here for four years. It’s also the longest I’ve ever lived in one place, which feels weird. I can feel this urge to move far away again—that’s why I’m planning to go to Norway next year.

“It’s tricky because most people here come for sports. The first thing anyone asks you is, ‘What sport do you play?’ or ‘Why are you here?’ And honestly, I used to think—’Why am I here? Because there was nowhere else for me to go.’ Would I have chosen this school if I were living somewhere else? No. There’d be no reason. That’s helped me actually find a place. I think I’ve built enough respect that I don’t have to worry about belonging anymore. It’s unfortunate that I had to earn respect, but that’s kind of what happens when you don’t have a team to back you up.

“My freshman year, Northwood Dance was a thing. When I came here, I didn’t know what a co-curricular was. At orientation, they had tables lined up, and when I got to the co-curricular table, they asked, ‘What are you going to do?’ and I was like, ‘Do something?’ I’d never been to a school where you had to pick something to be. So I looked at the list and just said, ‘Okay, I guess I’ll do dance,’ because there was nothing else I wanted. I had never danced before. I joined Northwood Dance not out of passion, just because I had to. One ballet class a week, and at the time, it meant nothing to me.

“That summer, my mom signed me up for a one-week intensive at Alvin Ailey in New York City, so I’d be occupied since I refused to get a job. We danced eight hours a day—it was amazing. My body had never felt so good. We’d take two classes in the morning—ballet, hip-hop, whatever—then lunch, then two choreography classes in the afternoon. It gave me a taste of what it was like to be a professional dancer: taking the train, reading a book, living that rhythm. I met dancers from everywhere. We’d eat McDonald’s for lunch—very proper dancers.

“After that, I started taking drop-in classes in NYC at Gibney Studios, which shares a building with the American Ballet Theatre. It’s so cool because now I see reels online and think, ‘I’ve been in that studio.’ Alvin Ailey had live drummers for African dance—such an incredible experience. I also tried drop-in ballet classes at Gibney. I was terrible and heartbroken because everyone else made it look effortless. But I had never seen something so beautiful. I called my mom after class, sobbing, saying, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’

“Sophomore year, I switched from the now-defunct Northwood Dance to LPCA. I met my ballet teacher and danced 2–3.5 hours a day. I was ready to live and breathe ballet—I definitely danced over 100 hours that year—but eventually, the joy disappeared. The mirrors felt harsh, the lights unbearable. I started skipping class, then stopped altogether.

“Junior year, I went all out with NOC. I returned to the Dance Sanctuary, did contemporary in the first semester, then ballet. That’s what I’m still doing. This year, I also joined the freestyle ski team, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes me.

“Last year, I managed to build my own little group of people—from all over, from all different teams. It was comforting to see that it could be the case, because I’d never seen that before.”

“My favorite artist? Gracie Hurlbut ‘25 has really gotten me into Noah Kahan, and I also like Zach Bryan.”

“My dad was a women’s college hockey coach, so from when I was really young, I always played and loved the game. When I was like, a mite-level player, we had a team and my mom was the coach. We didn’t have a goalie, and she said, ‘no one wants to do it. You have to do it,’ and I just loved it, and I’ve run with it ever since. I’m really glad to have the opportunity to play at a place like Northwood, and I’m really happy to have the opportunity to play at the next level after this.

“I’m going to Quinnipiac University next year, and I’ll be playing on their Division One women’s ice hockey team. It’s really exciting. They have great coaches, and I just love the school and the program, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“Hockey-wise, my favorite moment from Northwood so far was when we won the J-dub tournament out in Virginia; that was awesome. But my favorite moment at school was Winter Carnival—that was really cool. It was so fun to see everyone get involved and really competitive. I think I spent five hours on the puzzle.

“I’m from Whitesboro, New York. It’s about three hours away from here, just outside Utica. I live with both my parents and my two brothers. One of them is older than me, and he goes to college at Clarkson. The other one’s a year younger; he’s a high school junior. We have a dog. Our family is tight-knit, making it sad to move away from home. But they’re always supportive of me, and I’m so lucky that they have always supported me and encouraged me to go after my dreams.”

“I was a little homesick at the start. It’s different not being with your family every day, but it’s really forced me to grow and become more independent. It’s prepared me for college and being on my own next year. I think that, as a person, I’ve matured a lot. I’ve had to learn lessons I wouldn’t have learned at home with my parents, and I’m much more independent. At college next year, I’ll be much more ready to tackle that new community and sports environment with what I gained this year. I feel like Northwood has given me such an advantage compared to other kids. When I get to college next year, athletically, academically, I feel like I’m just a step ahead of everyone else now.”

As told to Sasha Luhur ’27. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

“My first year at Northwood, I was in 10th grade and my roommate had a guitar. None of my family has ever been musical, so it was kind of a joke I would make; I would take this guitar, go around the halls, and be like, ‘Hey, tell me a song and how to play it’, and they’d give me a song and I would just play. I didn’t even know what chords were then; I would strum the guitar, and everyone would laugh at it. A few months later, the guitar was there when I went to lie down on my floor, and I ended up hitting my head on the guitar and splitting my eyebrow open pretty well. So, after that, I decided, ‘You know what? Let’s try and learn guitar.’ Ever since then, I’ve been learning guitar on my own, using YouTube and whoever can help teach me. That Christmas, I also got my own guitar and kept going with it.

“I’m from Massena, NY. My dad played hockey growing up and in college, so obviously, he wanted me and my brothers to keep playing. I have four brothers, and we all play hockey. My uncle Mike Hurlbut went here a while ago. The hockey team I was on before was falling apart, and the good coach was leaving, so my parents took it upon themselves and started my application. I didn’t know anything about it. My mom asked me in the Dunkin drive-through, ‘How would you feel about going to a prep school?’ It was a dream of mine growing up, but I never thought it would come true. It was the only school I applied to, so I’m thankful I got in because it’s been a dream come true.

“I’m committed to Castleton and excited because Castleton is in Vermont, and I’ve always loved Vermont growing up. The town reminds me of Lake Placid, and it’s the only hockey team in the area there. My dad went to one of their games a couple of weeks ago, and it was packed, just like a D1 game would be. So, I’m excited about getting to meet new people. When I was talking to the coach there, he was like, ‘I really like you,’ because many players don’t come from prep schools, making the transition so much easier. It’s basically being at college already when you’re in high school, and it just makes the transition a lot easier.

“Coming to Northwood, I learned a lot about responsibility. Things like homework: I can sleep whenever I want, but I still have to get my homework done and keep myself responsible—getting up in the morning, going to a lift or workout, and then staying up late at night doing homework. I’ve also learned a lot about respect and the little things about it, like pushing your chairs in when you’re done using them. I had never thought about that before, but now I’m looking around, like, ‘I got to push some chairs in. ‘ It’s just a different culture.

“One other thing I’d say is people might think, ‘ Oh, I can’t do this’. I never thought I’d be able to play an instrument, but now I’m playing guitar at the school concerts, so my advice is don’t put anything down until you try it.”

As told to Sasha Luhur ’27. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.