You’ve probably seen other Northwood dorm tours, but I promise you’ve never seen one like this. Lily Pratt ’26 is the definition of Christmas spirit—something you can see instantly when you walk into her room.

The dorm room of Lily Pratt ’26 is decked out for the holidays. Photo: Anna Monnette ’26.

Most students bring a small tree or a holiday blanket from home to get into the festive mood, but Pratt goes all out. Starting with her bed, she has Christmas-themed sheets, pillows, and a blanket. Even her window is covered in cheerful holiday stickers.

The dorm room of Lily Pratt ’26 is decked out for the holidays. Photo: Anna Monnette ’26.

Next is a small corner of her room that most people might overlook—but not Lily. She has transformed it into its own mini-Christmas display. There’s another holiday pillow and blanket, plus a wall decoration made of red and white balls arranged in the shape of a tree. On her shelf sit some Christmas-themed stuffed animals, a tiny red-and-green tree, and—if you look closely—Christmas hair clips tucked in as part of the décor.

The dorm room of Lily Pratt ’26 is decked out for the holidays. Photo: Anna Monnette ’26.

Her desk area is just as festive. Light up Snowflakes along with twinkling Christmas lights and a few cheerful signs. Draped over her chair is yet another Christmas blanket. Sitting proudly on her desk is her favorite decoration: her Christmas countdown. She loves it because every morning she wakes up and moves it one day closer to the big day.

The dorm room of Lily Pratt ’26 is decked out for the holidays. Photo: Anna Monnette ’26.

Pratt has always loved Christmas; she loves spending the season with her friends here at school, and loves that for the big day, she gets to go home and spend it with her loved ones and family. Her room reflects that excitement everywhere you look: decorations across the walls, a Santa hat hanging up, lights around the room, and a paper chain stretched across her ceiling—a favorite among her friends and dormmates.

One thing is sure: Lily Pratt loves Christmas and knows how to deck her dorm!

“This is my first year at Northwood. I play varsity hockey goalie, and I have been playing hockey for 10 years. I live in New Jersey and have a house here in Lake Placid that my family and I stay in the winter to ski.

“Throughout my year at Northwood, my favorite memories have been traveling with the boys on the bus to tournaments. Looking at my time so far, Millsy [Coach Jeff Miller] has had the greatest impact on me. He has been my coach and my mentor, and he is just a good guy who has helped me get through hard times.

Right now, with the team, we are in a little bit of a rough patch. We started off decent, and the boys really pulled through this weekend.”

As told to Lucas Smith ’26. 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.”

“A quote my dad’s always said to me is as follows: You can’t soar with Eagles when you hang with the Chickens. It just means that if you want to be great in life, you have to surround yourself with people who have high standards. If you spend your time with people who have “average” goals, you will be average – so yeah, I suggest everyone surround themselves with those who are as driven and hardworking as you are and aspire to be.

“Something most don’t know about me is that I have a black belt in karate. I got it when I was 12; I started when I was about 6 or 7. At first, I was there because my dad just threw me into some classes. But in hindsight, I also stuck with it because it taught me things like discipline, controlling my emotions, and being respectful – I think this was why my dad had me take karate.

“You know me – I’m a baller. I’m joking, but if I were to play another sport, it’d be either basketball or football. Basketball, because I’ve grown up watching it, being from the 6, I’ve probably been to over 30 Raptors games. Football, just because I think it fits my personality, and because I enjoy it obviously – If I were to play, I’d be either a receiver or a DB.

“Pineapple does not belong on pizza. Pineapple (fruit) is meant to be had with yogurt, or something cool and fresh – not something hot and gooey and savory. I love pineapple, just not on pizza.

“In my two years, I think I’ve matured as a person a ton. When I first got here, I was an overly cocky and rowdy guy; I wasn’t always the nicest to teammates. I think most of all, I’ve emotionally matured. I used to get angry and lose composure over things and would be out of line, so I think I’ve found that line in showing emotion, but not crossing that line.”

As told to Gavin Kruger ’26. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

“I first heard about Northwood from my longtime teammate and friend, Henry Kress ‘26. I applied, and shortly after, Coach Mallaro reached out to my brother and me. We had been looking at a couple of different places, but when we met with faculty members and coaches from Northwood, it was pretty much a no-brainer. We never had the chance to tour because of a busy season, but looking at the pictures and the town was enough. The season had just ended, and we had to make the decision pretty quickly, but I couldn’t be happier here at Northwood.

“My favorite part about Northwood has got to be how friendly everyone is on campus and how the faculty really makes you feel at home. Last year, being away from home for the first time, it was pretty scary coming here, but after the first week, I felt very at home. Also, being in class with all my buddies is awesome. It makes the days and the classes fly by.

“One thing I would say to everyone at Northwood is to really enjoy every moment while you’re here. Last year was one of the best years of my life, and it really does fly by. Just enjoy the company of everyone, go to every dance, meet new people, and never think that you’re too cool to do something. This place offers a ton of unique experiences, and everyone should make the most of them.”

As told to Casey Morrissey ’27. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

“I found out about Northwood through Chadd Cassidy; he is one of the previous Northwood coaches. After hearing about it from someone who had experienced it and worked with the student-athletes here at Northwood, it just seemed like the perfect balance of hockey and school. I got accepted a month before school started because I was a late admission, so I never got to come to school or take a tour. So, coming out here not really knowing what to expect besides what I was told was nerve-racking, but this place really feels like a second home to me now. There are so many opportunities to meet people you would have never met anywhere else in the world. The people here really care about one another, and it is an amazing community.

“I plan to play junior hockey somewhere in the USHL and further my career in hockey. I also hope to be recruited to a Division 1 hockey team to further my academic goals. I also am planning to take some classes through a local college, depending on where I am, to get some college credit for when I am ready to go in.

“One thing I have learned from Northwood is just how to be a great human being. Everyone here is so nice and welcoming; it is hard not to have it rubbed off on you. When you are surrounded by amazing people, you become one yourself. I have also learned to just talk to everyone. Why not just talk to everyone? It is not every day that I get to talk to someone from a completely different culture from mine. It is special to have that opportunity.”

As told to Kevin Betsch ’26. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

“My favorite hobby other than hockey is jujitsu. I started this in the fifth grade because I got picked on, but it slowly grew to be one of my favorite things to do. I wanted to learn to defend myself, and now it is something that calms me and gives me confidence. It makes me feel at peace. I am currently working on a black belt and plan to test for it this summer.

There are so many reasons I love Northwood. It feels like a home away from home because of the community. I am never alone, and I am constantly surrounded by people who push me and are always there for me. I am from Ottawa, Ontario, and the transition to living away from home had its difficulties. But I love the part about being away from home where I get to be my own person, and I also think it has pushed me to mature.

I discovered Northwood through hockey. Once I toured, I instantly knew that Northwood would be a place I could call home.

Someone who inspires me is my dad, especially hockey-wise. He pushes me to my limits and knows I can handle it, and in the end, it makes me a better player and better person, and for that, I am incredibly grateful to him.

My plan for next year is to go back to Northwood for a postgraduate year. I feel this will be better for my development in hockey and overall help me with schooling and socially.”

As told to Anna Monette ’26. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.