Sam

It’s been amazing to have people from all over the world with all different opinions. When you get exposed to different ideas, you test your own ideas and are more open to new ideas.

Sam

After attending a small middle school, Sam was drawn to NMH’s larger community and diverse academic options. “The more I thought about it, I decided I wanted the extra challenge and the size,” he says. NMH felt like the right fit.

At NMH, Sam jumped into many activities that expanded his cultural connections and athletic abilities. He was a member of the school's rowing and Alpine ski teams and participated in the NMH World Percussion Ensemble, where students learn hand-drumming techniques from Africa, South America, Asia, and North America. He enjoyed playing the Conga and Djembe drums there and the opportunity to collaborate with other bands. Outside of school, Sam developed a passion for whitewater kayaking, which he navigated into a summer job at Zoar Outdoor, on the Deerfield River in Charlemont.

His hometown of Williamsburg, Massachusetts, is just far away enough to make boarding a big time-saver, and Sam used some of that time to take on the added responsibility of being a Resident Leader. As an RL, Sam was able to better know the community, interacting with students and helping faculty members on duty in the residences.

Even though he identifies as an atheist, Sam found meaning in his work as a member of the Interfaith Student Council, a group devoted to raising awareness of the diverse religious and spiritual traditions represented on campus. He was keenly interested in the interfaith conversations and service projects involved. “I have a lot of friends who are more conservative, while I'm more liberal, and more religious friends, while I'm not religious,” he says. “I think religion is an important thing to learn about and discuss, even if I'm not religious myself.”

Typical of the impactful experiences he had at NMH was an invitation to Breakaway, a nondenominational Christian gathering for students. “There's food and there's some singing, and I went, and it was just a type of thing I've never done before,” he says. “There was a moment where I felt like an impostor being there, but it was a good experience, and I've kept going there. It was a really good place to meet new people.”

Sam’s favorite classes included Advanced Topics in United States History, physics, and Advanced Topics in Biology: Biotechnology. Although initially concerned about taking advanced classes, he moved into them quite comfortably. Having several extracurricular commitments like skiing and rowing hasn’t overwhelmed his studies. Quite the opposite. “When I'm busier, I work better,” he says. “So, I actually am more productive when I have skiing, which is basically from 2 to 6. I've found that as long as I manage my habits well, I have enough time to do my work. It breaks the day up into nice chunks.”

The prospect of graduation is exciting and bittersweet, and, looking ahead post-graduation, Sam has plans for a trip to Maine with friends, then returning to his summer job at Zoar Outdoor.

In the fall, he will begin classes at Cornell University. He hasn’t settled on what he will concentrate on but mentions astrophysics and history as subjects he is eager to explore. In particular, he’s got neuroscience on his brain, so to speak.

“Right now, I'm interested in the brain,” he says. “I think a lot about my habits and how to change them, and I like how personal studying the brain is.”

The exposure to different views in a congenial setting, combined with rigorous academics, made NMH an impactful educational experience for Sam.

“It’s given me a lot of confidence,” he says. “It’s been amazing to have people from all over the world with all different opinions. When you get exposed to different ideas, you test your own ideas and are more open to new ideas.”

— By Bill Sweet