Northwood Life – The Mirror

Northwood Trustee Elected State Supreme Court Justice

December 19, 2022 by Maisie Crane

Ms. Allison McGahay (photo provided).

Northwood School Trustee Allison McGahay was elected to the state Supreme Court in November, and she will be sworn in to serve a 14-year term next month. The New York State Supreme Court is the highest trial court in New York. It has general jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases and hears cases involving contracts, torts, real estate, and criminal offenses. The New York State Supreme Court is organized into four judicial departments, each of which is responsible for hearing cases in a particular geographic area of the state. McGahay received the most votes of the six candidates who ran for the three open seats. She is the first woman to win a State Supreme Court seat in the 4th Judicial District, which encompasses the Adirondacks.

McGahay is a Lake Placid local who lives in town with her husband, Bill, and two young children, Liam and Grace. She has been a lawyer for 17 years and graduated from Albany Law school. In 2020, she joined the Northwood School Board of Trustees, where she serves on the legal committee.

McGahay began her election bid in 2021 and campaigned all over the state for over a year. She spent her days visiting small Adirondack towns and the Albany region. In the Adirondacks, her yard signs were ubiquitous.

Her jurisdiction ranges from north of Albany to the Canadian border. Once sworn in, she will split her time between Lake Placid, Elizabethtown (the seat of Essex County), and Albany.

She is a dedicated attorney, mother, Trustee, and now State Supreme Court Justice!

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Real World

Humans of Northwood: Rafael Pereira Borlido ‘23

December 19, 2022 by Anayo Etumnu Jnr

“My name Is Rafael Pereira Borlido, but people call me Rafa. I am from Brazil. I joined Northwood in September of 2021 in my Junior year. My experience at Northwood has been very fun. I have gotten to know many like-minded people and people of different cultures. A benefit of this is that my English has improved significantly. I came to Northwood for the excellent Soccer program and the academics. It’s just something that you cannot find in Brazil, which is why Northwood is so special to me. In Brazil, I have a sister who is two years younger than me, and I hold her to my heart dearly. A change from Brazil is living on my own and not being with family as I was very close with them My favorite food is a good old American classic steak.”

As told to AJ Etumnu ’25. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People

Much Activity Planned for Students During Extended Break

December 16, 2022 by Mitchell Baker

A group of students will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania during a January LEAP Course. (Photo: © Sergey Pesterev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

The first Semester will be over in less than two weeks, and we will commence the holiday break. During this period, the F.I.S.U. World University Winter Games will be held in Lake Placid from 12-22 January 2023. There will be more than 2,500 participants from over 50 countries. As a result, Northwood students and faculty will take a longer break and return to campus at the end of January.

The extended break allows international students to return home after a busy year. From mid-January, special off-campus programming and L.E.A.P opportunities are planned, and several sporting teams are traveling to various locations for competition. Students are so excited to participate in these activities.

The U17 and U19 Soccer teams are traveling to Puerto Rico to compete in the Next Level Winter Invitational Cup. Teams from all over South and North America will come to participate in this high-level competition. The team will stay in Puerto Rico from January 23rd to the 29^th. The team will tour Puerto Rico for the first few days and participate in several cultural activities before the competition starts. Christopher Green, a sophomore at Northwood, said, “I am really looking forward to going home and spending quality time with my family over Christmas. I am also looking forward to the Puerto Rico trip because I can’t wait to embrace Puerto Rican culture.”

“I’ve never been to Puerto Rico, so I am super excited to visit a new place in the world as well as catch up with my teammates after a long break,” said Hamish Riddell ‘26.

The Hockey teams also have exciting schedules and will look to add to their stellar performances so far this season. The Prep team will start their journey at Merrimack College for the True Cup challenge during the first weekend of January. The boys will meet back up in Buffalo for a training camp before heading to Detroit, MI for a PHC League event, followed by the MacPherson Tournament hosted by St. Andrews College in Aurora, ON.

The Varsity team will report to Salem, NH on January 12th as that will be their home base for an eight-day period where they’ll play games against Bridgton Academy, The Holderness School, The New Hampshire Monarchs, Avon Old Farms, and Salisbury. Then they return to Lake Placid for a slate of home games during the last weekend of January.

The Girls Hockey team will begin their January in Wellesley, MA for a showcase league event, followed by a short stint in Chazy, NY, a few games at St. Lawrence University before making their way to Philadelphia and Minnesota for the final two weekends in January. All teams are excited about what’s shaping up to be a great experience!

The L.E.A.P program offers a variety of courses. There will be 4 L.E.A.P programs, including an exhibition to hike Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, an exotic adventure to Saint Lucia, an art intensive in New York City, and voluntary work for the exciting F.I.S.U. Games. Mrs. Fagan, the coordinator of L.E.A.P, stated, “These L.E.A.P courses are for students who are not competing with their sport. All the courses are exciting, and the students will have an amazing experience.” An extremely exciting course offered this winter break is the Kilimanjaro adventure. This will be the first time in Northwood history that students will stand on top of one of the seven summits. The summit of Kilimanjaro is just below 20,000 feet (about the length of 60 city blocks)!

The overwhelming feeling is that the Semester and flown by so fast, and everyone is looking forward to the holiday break to reunite with family and friends. Happy holidays

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports, Top Story

Update on Northwood Soccer Alumni in College

December 15, 2022 by Mitchell Baker

With the College Soccer season over after Syracuse defeated Indiana in a tight penalty shoot-out to win its first College Cup, we thought it was worthwhile to review the seasons of Northwood alumni plying their athletic talents on the College stage.

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Class of 2022

Kendin Basden – Kenyon College (Div. 3)

Kendin appeared in 12 games for a total of 150 minutes this season with the Owls finishing the season with a 19-2-1 record.

Colter Cheney-Seymour – SUNY Plattsburg (Div. 3)

Played 13 games, recording 274 minutes of action. Made his collegiate debut versus Castleton on Sept. 7 and scored his first career goal against the Spartans. Played a season-high 51 minutes versus St. Lawrence on Oct. 25.

Connor DeAngelis – Lafayette (Div. 1)

Connor is yet to see game time with the Leopards.

Liam Doyle – Stanford (Div. 1)

Appeared in 20 games, including five starts for a total of 750 mins with five goals and two assists. Stanford came second in the Pac-12 behind Washington and lost to UNC Greensboro on penalties in the round of 16 in the College Cup. Doyle scored some cracking goals this season with his trademark bend.

Sebastian Green – Notre Dame (Div. 1)

He played in all 17 games as a defender and midfielder in his first season with the Fighting Irish, who finished the season with an 8-7-2 record overall and 3-4-1 in the ACC conference.

Aristide Gry – UNC – Chapel Hill (Div. 1)

Did not see any action this season.

Slater Loffredo – Brandeis University (Div. 3)

Played 11 games, including three conference games, with the Judges finishing the season 6-8-2 and 1-6 in the conference to finish 8^th.

Pablo Obrador – Coastal Carolina (Div. 1)

Played 69 mins over six matches off the bench as the Chanticleers finished the season 5-5-6 overall and 2-1-5 in the conference finishing in 5^th place.

Iu Pentinat – Coastal Carolina (Div. 1)

The Spanish GK played 16 mins in 1 match for the season.

Tomas Restrepo – Omaha Nebraska (Div. 1)

Tomas played in 5 games for a total of 76 mins with 1 goal as the Mavericks finished the season 8-6-2 overall and 5-2-1 in the conference to finish in 3^rd position.

Calem Tommy – North Carolina State (Div. 1)

Tommy featured in 17 games, including nine starts for the Wolfpack for a total of 885 minutes and two goals and three assists. The Wolfpack finished the season as the wooden spooners in the strong ACC.

CLASS OF 2021

Arnezha Astwood – Omaha Nebraska (Div. 1)

Appeared in 12 games for a total of 517 mins this year as a Sophomore, having played in 14 games for a total of 782 mins in his Freshman year.

Jalen Commissiong – University of Connecticut (Div. 1)

Featured in 3 games for the Huskies, including two starts for a total of 137 mins this season.

Alvaro Garcia-Pascual – Coastal Carolina (Div. 1) / Marshall

Garcia-Pascual was named first-team All-Sun Belt after finishing the regular season as one of the top scorers in the conference. His ten goals are tops in the conference, as are his points per game (1.47) and goals per game (0.67) averages. Alvaro appeared in all 16 games, playing 1068 minutes. After an impressive season, Alvaro has signed with Marshall for 2023.

Andrew Mazza – Bucknell (Div. 1)

Played 59 mins over four games in the 2021 season.

Kenji Mboma Dem – Omaha Nebraska (Div. 1)

After being named to the All-Summit First team in 2021, Kenji started 16 games for 1198 minutes with six goals and eight assists this season.

Luc Mikula – Coastal Carolina (Div. 1)

Started and played 90 mins in 14 games plus two from the bench for a total of 1338 minutes for the season.

Calil Neme Filho – St Lawrence (Div. 3)

Did not make an appearance in 2021 and was not on the roster this season.

Luke Smith – Omaha Nebraska (Div. 1)

Featured in 14 games, including 12 starts for a total of 995 mins with one assist.

Marc Wharfe – Rider (Div. 1)

Marc transferred to Rider and played in 7 games for 207 minutes this season.

CLASS OF 2020

Ryan Combe – University of Vermont (Div. 1)

Transferred from Akron to play 12 games and 399 mins this season.

Lucas Rodriguez – Colgate University (Div. 1)

Played a total of 32 mins in 3 games.

Mateo Rodriguez – Cornell University (Div. 1)

After a promising freshman season with 739 mins in 12 games, Mateo played 90 minutes in one game this season. Cornell had a great season, making it to the 3^rd round of the College Cup before losing to a late Syracuse goal. Cornell finished 2^nd in the Ivy League to Penn.

Eitan Rosen – Boston University (Div. 1)

After making the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, Eitan played in 18 matches, including 14 starts for 1090 minutes.

Bernados Simoes – Trinity College (Div. 3)

Starting GK in all 15 games for 1307 minutes.

Jonathan Sinclair – UNC Chapel Hill (Div. 1)

Did not see any action this season.

Marcelo Suarez – Hobart & William Smith (Div. 3)

Transferred from UC San Diego and played in 15 games this year for the Statesmen, starting in 5 for a total of 574 mins.

CLASS OF 2019

Christos Athanasiadis – Azusa Pacific (Div. 2)

Transferred from Saint Mary’s College of California and featured in 2 games for 43 minutes.

Cory Booth – Hope International (NAIA)

Did not see any action and is not on the roster.

Vicente Castro – Northwestern (Div. 1)

Castro featured in 9 games for 563 minutes, including one goal and three assists for the season.

Diego Dutilh – Creighton (Div. 1)

Diego managed 281 mins coming off the bench in 14 matches as Creighton continued its stellar year, reaching the semi-final of the College Cup, losing in a close match to the eventual winners Syracuse.

Mark Keiffer – Colgate (Div. 1)

Did not see any action in his first three years and was not on the 2022 roster.

Prince Loney-Bailey – James Madison (Div. 1)

The Dukes missed winning the Sun Belt Championship, beaten by National #2 ranked Kentucky 0-2. Prince appeared in 11 games, including 5 starts this season for 515 minutes.

Pedro Paggi – Luther College (Div. 3)

Played in 20 matches for a total of 461 mins in 2019 for the Norse but is no longer on the roster.

Inaki Rodriguez – Michigan (Div. 1)

Saw action in 15 matches with 13 starts this season, with two goals and one assist in 947 mins of playing time. Two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2020, 2021).

Alex Schalkwyk – Darthmouth (Div 1)

Featured in 14 games, including ten starts for a total of 464 mins with three goals for the Big Greens. Dartmouth finished 4^th in the Ivy League with a 3-4 tally in the conference.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

Prep Team Comes Out on Top in USHL American Cup

December 14, 2022 by Aidan Lasky

The Prep Team after the championship win at the USHL American Cup (photo provided).

After a few disappointing weekends before Thanksgiving break, the Prep team was finally able to catch a break. The boys fought hard against the New Jersey Rockets, Long Island Gulls, and BK Selects to mark the American Cup as their second tournament/showcase win. Here is how the memorable weekend played out.

The weekend started with an intense game against the New Jersey Rockets, which Northwood beat earlier in the season. The Rockets were a talented offensive team, but they did not want to play the gritty style that the Huskies play. The game was intense for all three periods, where regulation ended at 2-2, forcing overtime. The boys came out strong in OT, and Nikita Mescheryakov ’23 buried a great goal, giving the team the weekend’s first win.

The next game against the Gulls would not bear the same success. The boys had played the Gulls before and lost to them, but when the Huskies play to their potential, they have a great chance of beating them. Sadly, the team could not pull through in the second game, and the Gulls won 2-0.

Luckily this wasn’t just an elimination tournament, so the boys had a do-or-die game against Bishop Kearney Selects later that same day. This was perhaps one of the team’s best games of the weekend. They came out strong, the boys were yelling on the bench for each other, and the team fought back with ferocity despite giving up an early goal. This spirit gave the Huskies the lead and allowed them to close the game 4-2.

With another win under their belt, it was time for the semifinal rematch against the Rockets. The boys slaughtered them with ease and were able to advance to an exciting championship game against the Gulls.

The team could not lose again, especially tournament championship was on the line. The game had a fantastic atmosphere. You could feel the competitiveness in the air. The game went back and forth in a nail-biting fashion until it was 2-2 going into the last minute of play. With a stunning 19 seconds remaining, Cole Bauman ‘23 was able to send one home, giving the Huskies a 3-2 lead. In a heart-stopping few seconds, the boys were able to win the championship, beating the Gulls when it mattered.

The Huskies performed great this past weekend, and it will be fantastic to see if the team can make this a turning point in their season. From this point on, all the teams faced will be great opponents, and coming up this weekend is a league game against Mount St. Charles and the Overspeed Tournament.

We look forward to seeing how the boys perform this weekend, and we hope they can keep up the great work in making Northwood proud.

The boys wanted me to give a special Shoutout to Jeremiah’s Tavern in Rochester for a great pre-game meal on Sunday. As always, go Huskies!

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

Catching Up with CARE

December 12, 2022 by Maisie Crane

Maisie Crane ’23 (left) and Sophia Schupp ’24 with gifts purchased for the North Elba Christmas Fund (photo provided).

CARE is Northwood’s community service club organized and led by students. It started in 1996 and has continued through the years. The club organizes small fundraisers within the school that are fun for Northwood students and that raise money for outside groups.

During Halloween and Valentine’s Day, we usually sell candy grams. Students can buy small bags of candy to send to peers, and the money raised is given to a cause determined at the time.

In December, the club goes to local clothing and toy stores to buy gifts for the North Elba Christmas Fund, an organization that provides clothes, blankets, and winter coats for people in town who don’t have the ability to buy them. We also helped one of Mrs. Van Slyke’s art classes make a blanket for an elder in a Lake Placid assisted living facility.

Pink the Rink is a long tradition that hasn’t been organized in a while. It is a hockey-style fundraiser where teams of 3 to 4 play in a bracket-style elimination championship and eventually win a prize. The proceeds are sent to the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation.

Over the winter, we work towards more relaxing fundraisers for the community because it is stressful for everyone. So, we try to do bake sales and decorate the living room for the holidays.

As one of the few CARE leaders, I hope to get the Northwood Community more engaged with CARE and work on some more projects communally.

Filed Under: Northwood Life

From Cairo to Placid – Student’s First Snow

December 5, 2022 by Mitchell Baker

Ahmed smiles as he experiences his first snow outside the school’s main entrance (photo provided).

Ahmed El Ganainy, a junior from Cairo, Egypt, started at Northwood School this year. Having lived in Cairo his entire life, Ahmed had never seen snow before this week. Cairo stays mild or hot most of the year, with temperatures often hitting 92 degrees F in summer and 65 degrees F in winter. Wind and sandstorms are common, and pollution contributes to uncomfortable afternoons in the city. Now, nearly 8,000 miles away, Ahmed is in Lake Placid and experiencing tremendous amounts of snow.

Coming to Lake Placid was an eye-opener for Ahmed, with the Adirondack region featuring nature at its best. Sparsely populated, extremely quiet except for wildlife and trees everywhere was the opposite of traffic jams and horns in a crowded major world capital.

Last week, Ahmed saw snow for the first time. The last time it snowed in Egypt was on the 10th of January 1855 in the mountainous southern region of Sinai.

He was walking between buildings and saw white flakes falling from the sky. “At first, I didn’t really know what it was,” Ahmed exclaimed. “I had to ask people if it was snow. It was such a surreal moment. Magical, actually.”

Ahmed said, “It was a truly incredible moment seeing snow for the first time. I wanted to tell my family. I spent half an hour playing in the snow with my roommate Sam. I felt like a kid. I was so excited and immersed in the moment that I didn’t even feel the sub-zero [Celsius] cold. The pure joy I experienced from the snow will never be forgotten!”

Before coming to Northwood, Ahmed didn’t know what to expect. It was a brave move for him. However, he’s enjoyed life at Northwood, and the fact that the school has become more diverse every year makes moments like these so special.

So, look out for Ahmed on the slopes at Whiteface this ski season!

Filed Under: Northwood Life, People, Top Story

College Office Helps Seniors with Early Applications

December 5, 2022 by Aidan Lasky

Director of College Counseling Mr. David McCauley and Registrar/College Counseling Assistant Ms. Sandy Baker (photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge).

Northwood takes great pride in where its students attend college, so it is no surprise that the faculty does all they can to ensure every student is prepared to take on the journey. I interviewed David McCauley, the head of the college counseling office, and Turner Jackson, a student who has applied early action, to share more about the process at Northwood.

Mr. McCauley is the head of the college office here at Northwood, and he is one of the reasons the school is so prepared to help its students with applications. Mr. McCauley shared that a huge challenge for the office has been working with a senior class with so many new seniors. Thirty-two members of the class of 2023, half of the class, are new to the school, and that has been tough for the office to organize. Despite this challenge, McCauley said, “the students have done a great job being prepared, and we have 29 students applying early.” That’s quite an achievement for the office.

Mr. McCaulley also mentioned that he was glad that they could offer in-person and virtual sessions for schools such as Notre Dame, Cornell, and Stanford. The college office goes to great lengths to provide the students with such fantastic opportunities. The students here are fortunate to have faculty so excited to help them advance to higher education.

Turner Jackson ’23 (photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge).

Jackson is a 3^rd year senior from Hong Kong, and he is an excellent example of being prepared for the college journey. As I mentioned earlier, Turner has already applied early action to Northeastern University. Although he has only applied to one school now, he shared that he expects to apply to a few more later in the year, depending on soccer and his academics.

As a senior myself, I know how stressful it is to work on an application, and I was curious to see how Turner was feeling. “The college office has done a great job helping prepare me for the submission process, and Reno [Mr. Steve Reed] was great in helping me develop my essay.”

Jackson also gave a lot of credit to starting early in the summer. An early start helped take some of the stress off his shoulders. It was also encouraging to hear how much Turner liked having the help of Northwood teachers. He said, “All the faculty have been willing to help in the process,” which is a testament to how involved the school is.

Christie-Ann Nelson ’23 smiles after submitting an early application in October 2023 (photo: Mr. David McCauley).

As we get later and later into the school year, more and more students will be applying to colleges. It’s exciting to watch this process unfold, and we hope the students get the success they are looking for.

Thank you to the college office and Turner for sharing their perspectives, and we wish him, along with all the other seniors applying, the best of luck in their journey to and through college.

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Top Story

Catching Up with the Prep Team

December 3, 2022 by Aidan Lasky

The 2022-23 Prep hockey team during September action at the Olympic Center (Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge).

Before a well-needed Thanksgiving Break, the boy went to Stanstead College in Quebec. There they play opponents Upper Canada College, Kimball Union Academy, and Ridley College. Within a day of coming off the break, the team also traveled to Berkshire School for a quick two games against Kent and Berkshire. Here’s how the games went down.

The boys started the weekend in Stanstead against Upper Canada College, a team they had not played against before. The game started slowly for the Huskies, and it was clear to see that they had more to give. In the second half of the game, the boys were able to pull together several goals allowing them to take the game 4-1. The next game against KUA had more weight on it because the team knew KUA would be a better opponent. The Huskies were able to come out much more organized in this game and dominated most of the game. KUA could muster up three goals, but the Huskies would not be stopped and scored a remarkable five goals, making it another win on the weekend, 5-3. The final game against Ridley College was perhaps the most important because the Huskies previously lost to Ridley in a contest that Northwood underperformed. The Huskies played a better game than the first time they played Ridley, but they could not pull out a victory. The Stanstead weekend sadly ended with a loss against Ridley, but still 2-1.

After a relaxing break, the boys had to bounce back quickly at the Berkshire Jamboree. They started with a practice Sunday night to work out some kinks before the two games on Monday. The team played Kent School first, and it seemed like a repeat of what happened after thanksgiving break last year. The boys were slow to react, and neither team could produce any goals. The game ended 0-0, a disappointing tie. After a short turnaround, the Huskies had to face hosts Berkshire School. They had to perform better since Coach Morris wasn’t happy with the earlier tie. The boys drove the net hard and pounded Berkshire. The team scored a stunning six goals and gave Jozef Zilinec ’24 a 6-0 shutout. It was an outstanding performance to get back into stride for the upcoming USHL classic next weekend.

The boys have had bumps in the road, but they hope to change for the better in this half of the season. As usual, we wish them the best of luck in reaching their goals and hope they post an excellent performance in Rochester this weekend. Go Huskies!

Filed Under: Northwood Life, Sports

Head of the Fish Marks the End of 2022 Crew Season

November 20, 2022 by Hung Nguyen

A double scull training on Mirror Lake (Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge).

With the conclusion of the Head of the Fish regatta, the 2022 crew season has finished. Held in Saratoga Springs, NY, the regatta features a 2-mile head race course. Head racing means that participants do not race simultaneously, but rather are timed and ranked based on that metric instead. Northwood participated in 2 events, the Boys and Girls U17 Single (sculling). Participants included Gus Garvey ‘25, Hung Nguyen ‘25, and Sophia Sherman ‘25. Despite competing against some of the top scullers in the country, and facing obstacles such as water weed, everyone finished the race.

Coach Howard Runyon reflected on the team and the season. “It’s a young team with good potential. It’s a young team of capable people whom I hope to watch grow and develop into skillful racers.” He also praised the team’s camaraderie. “Another thing I’d like to say is that we have good luck right now to have a group of people who are all good at getting along with others so that it’s a cohesive group. It’s easy to make collective effort happen.”

The crew team will return to activity in the spring of 2023.