I’m a hockey player from Stamford, Connecticut. This is my second year at Northwood and I’m a senior. I came to Northwood because I wanted to keep playing hockey in a small school environment. Northwood is a tight-knit community, and everyone knows each other. Last year, you were around each other all the time. Obviously Covid kind of changed that this year. Covid changed my Northwood experience a lot with this year being a little different and not being able to do as much. Still, though, just being around the boys on the team and others you get to create bonds with people. As far as my plans for next year, I will most likely end up playing junior hockey so I can end up playing in college. 

As told to Mackenzie Hull. Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge

I’m Benedetta, but everyone calls me Benni. I am a skier from Rome, Italy. This is my first year at Northwood and I am a senior. I’m really enjoying this experience at Northwood so far; I love American school and think it’s great. I think Northwood has been a really great experience for me. This year has been a struggle for everybody trying to be safe, but also open things. I think it’s been a struggle for us kids being 17-year-old stuck in a pandemic, but Northwood is doing a good job balancing keeping us safe and letting us enjoy our experience because of course it’s tough. It’s tough not being able to do everything we want to do, but even so, it’s my first year here and I‘m loving it. I love how here at Northwood I can balance my athletics and my academics in the same place, something I‘ve never been able to do. It’s been so great here. It’s not easy, but I have a huge support system here. 

At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t even thinking about applying to college in the US, but then coming here I loved the American system and I think it’s very supportive and I decided to give it a shot, so I applied to some colleges and wrote my essays, and it has been tough but there has been a lot of people around the college office helping me. I didn’t even know what the University or College applications system was like, so being able to have the help is great. I hope I get in and my plan is to go to college and get into the ski team and continue to ski D1 in college. 

As told to Mackenzie Hull ’21. Photo provided.

Zheqi Wang ’21 (Photograph: Mr. Michael Aldridge)

The Covid-19 pandemic led me to taking online class this year as I remain in China. As we all know online class is not a good way for students to study: some students will not pay attention to their classes, the online classes are not high quality because of the lagging, and the homework problem also leads to students to have less than a high–quality learning experience. Take me for example. The most difficult things for me regarding online class are the different time zones and unreliable internet. 

Firstly, different time zones make me hard to concentrate on classes, especially during the midnight. My journalism class starts at 1:20pm Lake Placid time, but when I log in to that class it is 2:20am at home. For the first two weeks, I was trying to switch my biological clock to U.S. time. I “stay up late” after the school days and sleep during my daytime. Preparing a cup of coffee or tea at the begging of the class. When I was trying to switch my biological clock, it’s hard to fall sleep, because the noise from the traffic jams outside and the ambient noise is loud. But, luckily, I generally overcome the noise and fall sleep. 

The other factor is the internet problem. Firstly, I need to buy a Virtual Private Network (VPN) from a company that can create a new IP address, so I cannot buy the VPN from Apple Store or any websites. Secondly, if I connect the VPN the Wi-Fi signal will be weak, which sometimes leads to live class lagging. If its lagging when teachers are talking about important information, I need to spend time to re-watch the recorded classes. Additionally, if I need to do the homework, which might be watching a movie first and answering the questions, I need to spend twice as much time on homework.  

Thus, online class is not a good choice for me, but that is the only way to study right now. 

My hometown is Newton, CT, but I’m so grateful to have called Lake Placid my home for four years.

I originally chose Northwood just for the ski program. But throughout my years at the school, I realized that Northwood has so much more to offer! While at Northwood, I was able to meet new people and explore and expand my new passions.

My favorite thing about Northwood is all the great and vastly unique people there. I met friends that I’ll love and remember for the rest of my life. My very small friend group is truly like family to me, and they tremendously helped me grow as an individual. (Thanks guys!) I hope to visit Lake Placid often as it’s one of my favorite places in the world.

When I was younger, I had a fear of talking to people older than me. Even people I’d known for basically my entire life, like my grandparents. It was more than just shyness. For example, I could never order food at restaurants. It was not easy challenging myself. It was only when I was in the eighth grade that I began to feel okay talking to my teachers one-on-one. I think Northwood has really helped me overcome my fear.

At first, I tried hiding my fear. I wanted to appear calm and not let others know the panic I was feeling inside. But as I got more and more opportunities to voice my opinions, I actually began feeling comfortable enough to push myself further. As I got involved in the rowing team, the Sustainability Committee, the Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program, the student councils, The Mirror, and other activities, I became more and more confident interacting with teachers and other adults. This was one of the reasons why I chose Northwood. I’d always wanted to go to a boarding school to learn to be more responsible for myself and to be more independent. Now, after four years of Northwood, I’m not even afraid of public speaking. I’m really thankful for how the Northwood community has always been supportive and loving all along.

Another reason why I decided to go to Northwood was the winter activities. I love skating and snowboarding. I’m sad that I had to leave Lake Placid in the middle of winter. I was getting better and better at snowboarding and was planning to learn skiing from my friends as well. Now that I’m back home in Korea, I don’t get much time to spend on outdoor activities. I’ll never forget all the hiking I did in the Adirondacks.

I’ll also miss my friends and teachers. They believed in me more than I did and always encouraged me to trust myself even when I doubted what I could achieve. Without them, I would’ve never been able to listen to myself. I can’t say I loved every single moment I spent at Northwood. There were days when it was a struggle to get through study hall or times when I missed my family and friends in Korea. But the good moments overshadow the bad ones. I’m glad to be a four-year survivor at Northwood. It means that I got to enjoy almost all the opportunities the school has to offer. Regardless of what I do or where I go in the future, the support of the Northwood community will always stick with me and be a part of who I am.

Su Hae “Jessica” Jang was the editor-in-chief of The Mirror for two years (2018-19 and 2019-20). This profile was published on her originally-scheduled graduation day. The ceremony was postponed until May 20, 2021 due to the global pandemic.

Andrew is a post-graduate student from Fayetteville, New York. He was involved in rock climbing and skiing and was a key member of Northwood’s FIRST Robotics Team. He is undecided about his plans for next year.

My name is Chao Wang, but people call me Kevin. I am from Dongguan, China. I am a “four-year survivor” of Northwood. I enjoyed skiing at Whiteface and the school’s Adirondack setting. I plan to attend university in the United States, but I am currently undecided about where I will study.

Mingwei is from Yiwu, China. At Northwood, he participated in Rockets and Robotics. He’s currently undecided about his university plans for next year.