I was so scared when I started at NMH. I was not good with leaving home. I was terribly homesick; I cried almost the whole first day. It was rough. But I wanted to be here so badly that I told myself, “You have to get over it.” After a week I did. By three weeks, I was totally transitioned. Coming here was definitely the best decision of my life so far.

When I was struggling during those early weeks, the resident leaders and the faculty in the dorm talked to me all the time. If I was by myself, I’d think about home and get upset. But if I had someone to talk to, then I’d have fun. Getting involved with sports helped too. I played JV soccer my first semester; that was really fun and a way to make friends easily. Now I play soccer, hockey, and lacrosse.

The workload at NMH is big, but there’s a lot of time to get it done. There are always teachers to help me if I’m having trouble with physics or something. I actually love science. In my old school, we didn’t have a lab, just a classroom for science. So being able to do experiments in the lab and take part in the science fair is really great.

Striving for perfection is a good part of my work ethic. At times it’s hard because there are a lot of really athletic, really smart, really good kids at this school. You just have to try your best to be your own person too. In terms of athletics, it’s much harder here than in my old town. But it’s nice to compete against people who are really good—it helps me get better. 

I was nominated to become a resident leader, which was a real honor. I think I could help someone a lot as a resident leader because what I went through emotionally when I came here was just crazy. I know exactly what it’s like to be going down that tough road. Being a resident leader seems like a feel-good job. Even though it can probably be tough at times, it seems really worth it.