On home…

 I’m from Cohoes, NY and I live there with my mom, dad, two cats (Nic and Newt), and two dogs (Pippa and George).  I’ve always had pets growing up, from various types of fish to a bird; it often feels like our house is a zoo, a bit chaotic, a few TV remotes destroyed, and a lot of hair, everywhere but a lot of fun! 

Family is something I hold close to my heart, from ‘framily,’ friends who are basically family, board game nights filled with shouts of victory and loss, to summer camping trips and adventures. I owe so much to my family, and framily: all that I am is because of them and the communities that they led me to.

 

 

 

On Emma…

I first learned about Emma through my peers who were applying at the time, but Emma wasn’t my plan initially. My journey to Emma was rather different from most of my peers. I started in December of my freshman year, just a couple of weeks before winter break. I was anxious to start at such an odd time, in a place I didn’t know. 

I had only been on campus once, for a tour a couple of weeks before my first day, which added to my nerves. Emma’s campus may be gorgeous, but it can also be rather daunting and confusing as a new student. However, the moment I stepped foot on Mt. Ida for my first day my anxiety melted away as I was met with smiles and “hellos” from people I passed in the hall, even though I didn’t know them. I felt a warm sense of community that my peers, teacher, and proctor quickly welcomed me into.

For me, that is what makes Emma so special. While it can be tough and the days have felt long and filled with work, the people who make up EWS have made it all worthwhile. The most special and magical part of Emma is the people; they each bring their magic to Emma Willard and allow you to find yours. I am eternally grateful that I somehow managed to be lucky enough to live in the same universe as such wonderful people, go to the same school as them, and most of all call them all my dearest of friends. The other special thing about such special and magical people is that even after Emma, they carry this magic with them. 

For my fellow members of the class of 2025, I can’t wait to continue watching everyone's magic grow with each new space they enter and each new wonderful adventure they embark on. One of the many privileges of being at Emma is getting to know everyone and experiencing their magic in ye grey walls.

 

 

 

On art…

It’s so hard to choose just one thing, but what is most present in my mind at the moment is art. I have done art for as long as I can remember, from haphazard collage pieces to masterful stick figures. I loved making art, especially outside of school. My small elementary school self found it rather restricting and frustrating in art class when we all had to follow the same steps and create the same pieces of art, so the freedom that came with doing art at home was much needed and very welcomed. 

I don’t exactly remember if there was a specific moment where I got into making art, I just remember always doing it. My dad has taken art classes for as long as I can remember, some of his paintings are up around our house, and often when I did art at home I did it with him. We’d sit opposite each other at the table, intently focused on our respective pieces. We still do art together now, when we have time, and I certainly still do art on my own time. 

Art is one of my favorite things in the world, because there is no world without art, it’s how we express our uniquely human experiences and emotions and connect with each other and ourselves. Art has been an outlet, a way to connect with both myself and my emotions and other people. 

Art has taught me a lot about myself and what I need to work on, like letting go of a sense of constant control and just adapting to where the piece and world takes me. It has taught me to take a step back, because that is often when we see the true beauty of our work and ourselves. I could spend forever listing all the things doing art has taught me and there's still so many more things to learn from it and about it! 

I would love to learn how to use more mediums, like spray paint, that seems like a fun and abstract way of painting or doing more mural work. I recently worked on painting the mural in the Mount Ida Food Pantry, which everyone should go see and volunteer at, with a handful of other Emma Willard students, and I had a blast! It was challenging as I had never done art like that before but it was so rewarding. I would love to experiment with murals further, especially another collaborative one!

 

On learning an instrument (potentially)!…

I would love to learn how to play an instrument. I have no idea which instrument, perhaps the bass guitar or cello, or maybe the harmonica, or maybe something more unique like the accordion or bagpipes. Who knows! I think it would be great fun to be able to whip out a song from my repertoire at random moments and rock out to my epic skills. I am, however, definitely not musically inclined, so it would likely be an extremely uphill challenge, but a challenge I would someday like to pursue nonetheless!

 

On Revels (and more)... 

Choosing my favorite Emma tradition feels a bit like trying to pick a favorite child or pet. I, of course, love Revels with my whole heart, and it was truly one of the most magical experiences of my life. Ring week is also one of my favorites. There's something about strolling to class and seeing a herd of smurfs trekking to Hunter out of the corner of your eye or hearing an inflatable unicorn shuffle on stage at Morning Reports that really brightens up those dreary February days and warms the heart. 

I will say, two more unlikely traditions rose to the accusation this year and solidified their place amongst some of my most beloved traditions. The first being Emmaween, it has always been a blast, but getting to work at the haunted house the seniors put on every year was truly a highlight of the night. Even if my voice was a bit hoarse the next day, and I was a wee bit bruised from falling out of the trash can I was hiding in (and then jumping out of at underclassmen passing by), it was nonetheless joyous, I didn’t want it to end! 

The second being May Day. I do enjoy May Day normally, but getting to be a part of the senior lip sync dance this year made it all the more incredible. Despite the long rehearsals in the hot dance studio in Slocum, the moment when we finally learned the last bit of choreography, ran the whole dance through, and finally got to perform it in front of the roaring cheers of the community made it all worth it, especially pulling of multiple epic stunts where we did a cheer lift of some of the other dancers.