Sofia

It's really easy to do athletics and be part of other things as well. I’m busy, but my coaches are very understanding. There's this understanding and willingness to let me be fully engaged in everything that I'm interested in.

Sofia

Sofia ’23 didn’t come to NMH until her junior year. “I was looking for community — that was really important to me,” she says. “And I really got a strong sense of community from my visit here.”

She also got the sense that NMH was a place where she’d be fully supported in all her interests. “The students [I met] were all passionate about their sports or arts or academics,” she said. “But it wasn't just one thing — it was two things, three things, four things. Everyone was very multi-faceted.

“As a student athlete who also loves to be challenged in school and participate in clubs, in band, and in singing, [it was important] for me to be at a school surrounded by peers who share that drive and that motivation and who are super-involved and a presence in the community,” Sofia adds.

To say that Sofia has been super-involved at NMH is an understatement. She’s played field hockey in the fall and ice hockey in the winter, and, in the spring, she’s on the rowing team — a sport she picked up at NMH. She’s also been a class chair in Student Congress and co-chair of student assembly; sung in an a cappella group, the Nellies; played saxophone in the jazz and concert bands and the honors jazz combo; worked on “Gemini,” the student yearbook; and served as a campus tour guide and a resident leader in a dorm — all in addition to a course schedule that includes advanced courses in math, her favorite subject.

“I just love to be involved in a lot of things,” she says. “That's who I've always been. I like to make a difference. I never like to settle. I like always trying to keep making things better, and I'm not afraid to take risks.” Having her first two years of high school upended by the COVID-19 pandemic made her even more motivated to expand her horizons at NMH, whether by taking up a new sport or running for student government as a brand-new student, she says. “I want to make the most of the time I have here.”

As an athlete, Sofia especially appreciates NMH’s focus on supporting students in all their pursuits. “It's really easy to do athletics and be part of other things as well. I’m busy, but my coaches are very understanding,” she says. “They know that playing the saxophone is really important to me — just as important to me as being goalie on the field hockey team. And my music instructor knows that playing field hockey is as important to me as playing in the band. There's this understanding and willingness to let me be fully engaged in everything that I'm interested in.”

As she prepares to head off to the University of Michigan in the fall, Sofia has been thinking about what she’ll take with her from NMH. “I'll miss all of the relationships I've formed — with my teachers, my coaches, my teammates, my peers, my dorm mates,” she says. “And the environment. It's just so supportive — I can't think of a better word. It's just such a nice place to be — a home away from home. I'll look forward to coming back for visits.”