Student Spotlight: Nicola Brandon

Nicola Brandon started horseback riding about two years ago, and since then has been in many competitions. Nicola says, “We will normally do two competitions a month and its all year round.” The events that she and her horses compete in are called show jumping competitions. In jumping, the horse and rider are required to negotiate an obstacle course while the horse has to leap over different obstructions in its path. If the horse is not able to clear a jump, points are taken off. The time it takes to complete the course is also important to the score.

However, Nicola has not been competing for several months. There was an unfortunate setback involving her old horse, Outlander. “I competed at the Spruce Meadows in June, and then Outlander hurt his two back legs.” The show jumping event in Monroe next month will be the first one Nicola has been in since June. She will be competing with her new horse, Zi Zodine, or Zoe for short.

There are several reasons that Nicola loves horseback riding so much. She says, “No matter what you have on your mind and what’s going on, when you ride, you don’t think about anything because you’re so focused.” This allows Nicola to not be nervous while competing, as she does not have to focus on the spectators.

Nicola will be competing in April, and I think that all of us at SAAS wish Zoe and Nicola good luck.

Student Spotlight: Max Chen

While Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, and Track seem to be Seattle Academy’s most prominent sports, Senior, Max Chen has a passion for climbing. It has only been the last few years that Seattle Academy has had its own climbing club, but Max Chen has outdone himself with his talent and heart for climbing. He currently competes with the Seattle Bouldering Project’s team in Seattle. Even though Max competes nationally, climbing has not always been a competitive sport for him. “Climbing has always been a sacred place for me, and competition seemed to ruin it,” says Max.

When children are young they are thrown into a competitive team sports, and their love for competition only grows. However, Max found that his passion for climbing started when he was a kid, just climbing doorjambs or flagpoles. “I have always had a fascination with heights; it’s just an inborn trait,” says Max.

Since the age of seven Max has been competing with various teams in Seattle and is ranked fifth regionally and 33^rd in the United States in the junior category (Ages 16-18).

The physical challenge that comes with climbing is inevitable, but what most people don’t know about is the mental challenge. Max says, “The solution to a route is rarely obvious and it forces you to develop a hypothesis and test it. It requires you to have a certain degrees of self-knowledge; knowing what positions you are strong enough to move fluidly in and which positions are going to force you to struggle against gravity.”

One of the most satisfying moments, Max says, is when he discovers new paths he can take on a wall. “The ability to discover new paths, even if you can’t take them yet, is something which I find deeply rewarding,” says Max.

In the spring the seniors will be graduating, and Max looks forward to the new activities he will be able to try at college, but he is sure that climbing will persist through his new interests.

Student Spotlight: Michaela Smith-Simmons

The Seattle Academy Girls Varsity Basketball Team is full of seniors, but Freshman Michaela Smith-Simmons joined these girls this season as one of the starters. Like some athletes, Michaela found her passion young, but she has continued to improve and bring her game to the next level. Recently she was offered to play for an AAU team called Tree of Hope. Michaela has dedicated her life to the court ever since the age of nine. “My teacher had the class talk about a place that calmed us. That is when I realized that a basketball court was the one place that I loved more than anything and it was the place for me,” says Michaela. While most people would expect the court to be chaotic, and noisy, Michaela finds the court to be her second home. I guess that’s what happens when you fall in love with a sport!

As a freshman on varsity, Michaela has found that the other upper classmen have been supportive and friendly to their younger teammates. “Being on Varsity feels amazing. The varsity team shows that a senior can be friends with a freshmen and actually talk to them and not just ignore them,” says Michaela.

Of course walking away from a game after win is the best feeling. A win is an entire team effort, and Michaela recognizes that her effort to win is part of the team’s. “Just seeing everyone so happy makes me happy because I feel as though if we win as a team then I have won as an individual. These moments make you smile and be proud of yourself.” Says Michaela.

Even though this was her first year as a Varsity player, Michaela showed great maturity on an off the court. She plans to pursue basketball and travel with her teams around the country. She hopes to play for a Division 1 school, with her first choice of UCLA. As a freshman starter on the girls’ Varsity Basketball team, Michaela has contributed maturity, skill, and leadership on and off the court.

Doppelganger

This is the first installment of a series called "Doppelganger." I awoke on a cold slab of metal. At least, the texture of it led me to conclude as much. At first, my eyelids appeared to be sewn shut, each lash trembling like a shivering child as my pupils struggled to soak in the dim blue lights. After much trepidation and effort, I finally succeeded in prying apart the iron hinges that had become my eyes, yet the sight awaiting them was less believable than the darkness of my long repose. Blinking, I timidly moved my left toes, sighing in both relief and pain as an unbridled wave of tingling bathed my foot. I spent the next couple minutes gingerly awakening each appendage in turn, until soon, all that remained was my head and torso.

Slowly, I sat up, pleasantly surprised when the accompanying dizziness was significantly less than expected. As I cautiously placed my legs on the edge of my artificial bed, I was chagrined to discover my body was bare of any clothing, a dilemma rendering escape to be an even more challenging task. I glanced around the room quickly, praying for a sheet, but my stationary search was to no avail.

Accepting my fate of nudity, I dropped unceremoniously off the metal slab and onto my weakened feet, sending ripples of pain like anguished shrieks throughout my ankles. Lurching with the gait of one who has drunk too much, I slowly stumbled my way in the direction of what appeared to be a door, and pressed my face to the icy glass window facing the hallway.

Almost instantly I drew back in shock, before scrutinizing once more the scene presented to me through the door. Standing directly in my line of vision was a girl, about five feet tall, red hair and blue eyes, wearing a purple sweater and soft jeans. This apparition itself would have been odd enough so near to what I suspected was some sort of prison cell or laboratory, yet this itself was minor compared to the one glaring impossibility in the girl’s appearance. In proportion, stature, and mannerisms, this girl was without a doubt, me.