NMH Magazine : Winter 2004

Taylor McCormack '06

“I wasn’t the most incredibly independent person when I got here. Now I take advantage of as much as I can, and I find myself doing things I never dreamed of.”

“If you try NMH, you’ll find you become a different person,” Taylor McCormack tells prospective students as she squires them around campus. 

She knows whereof she speaks. Taylor arrived here in 2002 from Yarmouth, Maine, a dot-on-the-map northern town, eager to expand her universe. She’d never even been to sleepaway camp before. After her first two weeks at NMH, she felt herself shifting inside in fundamental ways, becoming more mature, surer of herself, more willing to take risks. When she returned home for midterm break, her parents noticed the difference. “They were convinced I was this brand-new person,” she says.

Her brand-new self had remarkable energy, playing junior varsity soccer and varsity basketball and lacrosse, winning school prizes in math and Spanish, and—nearly unheard of for a ninth grader—capturing the NMH Girls Basketball Award. She joined the Concert Choir and, in another unusual coup, became an admission tour guide during her second term at school.

Her social world expanded exponentially, going from the simple homogeneity of Yarmouth to the exotic miniworld of NMH. She made friends with kids from China to New York City to Spain, and became roommates with a girl who lives in Jordan, Egypt, and Washington, DC. She heard amazing stories and strong opinions, saw diversity in all shapes, forms, and colors. She says, “There’s no mold you have to fit in here. Everybody is the way they are. They wear the clothes they want to wear and are true to what they believe.”

She discovered her potential, too, thanks to the breadth of the 
student body. “It’s one thing if you’re the best singer in your hometown. But here, there’s competition from all over the world. It helps you see where you stand and it encourages you to do different things.”

An eloquently gung-ho tour guide, Taylor’s most convincing marketing point is surely herself. Just ask Sarah Longley from Yarmouth, Maine, who was looking at boarding schools last year and asked her fellow hometowner about NMH. Before long, Sarah was touring the campus, and it wasn’t long afterward that she applied. Now she’s an NMH sophomore and is well on the road to becoming a different, brand-new person. 

My NMH Hero

I did a lot of thinking about who is my hero here at NMH. I thought of what intrigues me about this school, every experience I’ve had here, and every faculty member and friend who’s touched me since I arrived. The truth is I can’t choose several heroes, let alone one. Not because no one has touched me, but because ever since my interview two years ago, so many have affected me in positive ways. Matt Hyde, the admission officer who interviewed me, was so nice and helped me confirm that NMH was the place for me. Soccer season with Vicky Jenkins and Nadine Muzerall was one of the best terms of my life, along with classes with teachers Mary Ann Watt and David Taylor. In my first term I had work job supervisors, teachers, and coaches who touched my life forever. I would name every person here who’s affected me, but it’s way too many people to describe. The entire NMH community is my hero, and every day I’m inspired and thrilled with my decision to attend.