FA ATHLETICS

Unlike many athletes who tell of following their love of athletics at a young age, Isabel didn’t start playing any of her chosen sports until middle school. At that time, she started running cross country and track, but it wasn’t until high school that she started cross country skiing. She recalls the start of her nordic career, “I had never nordic skied before, but I was convinced by my friends on the cross country team to try it, even though it was a tough decision, it was well worth it.”

Nordic coach John Weston is pleased that Isabel made the decision to join the FAST group, “Last year was Isabel’s second year on the team. She was the top racer for the girls all season and competed in every race. She has a warm personality and is involved in many school activities. She is the leader for the girls both on and off the trails.”

Isabel doesn’t have a favorite sport—or maybe you could say, they are all favorites, “I love all the sports I currently play equally but for different reasons. I love the small team vibe and the meditation of a long run alongside someone during cross country. I love the conversations I have had and the relaxation from school that only cross country gives. I love nordic because I get to be outside in the dark winters in Maine and enjoy how I can stay warm even though it is freezing. I love nature too. I love track for the endless opportunities to try new things.”

Even when playing a particular sport, Isabel thrives on experiencing a variety of events. Her main event in track is the 400m, but she also runs the 100m, 200m, 300m hurdles, 800m, the 1600m, 4 x 100m, 4 x 400m, and has recently started doing the high jump. Track coach Trevor Hope touches upon Isabel’s openness to new experiences, “Isabel was our captain for the last outdoor track and field season. She enjoyed participating in a lot of the relays and was willing to try new events. The past season she continued to work on high jump which she had started learning the previous season and qualified for states! Isabel is very coachable and has a lot of natural talent to go with it.”

Beyond Isabel’s talent, Coach Hope appreciates Isabel’s influence on the team, “She is a very gifted athlete and leader. The younger athletes look to her for guidance and she always takes the time to demonstrate or direct them where to go or what to do. As coaches we always appreciate her commitment to the team and willingness to help.”

In the classroom, Isabel loves studying Mandarin, science, and history. Her interest in history springs from the joy of “learning about the past and thinking about if I was in the positions of the people I learn about, what would I do?” While she loves learning the Mandarin language, she also values learning about Chinese culture. Science, and in particular developing a better understanding of the human body, also intrigues Isabel. The connection between sports and the classroom becomes clear to her in classes that study physiology, “I think that athletics has definitely added to my love of human anatomy and food science because I am living proof that moving your body and one’s diet can have immense impacts on you.”

In addition to the hours spent doing classwork and athletics, Isabel has participated in musicals, both onstage and backstage. She plays the violin, but decided to try yet another instrument last year and took up the clarinet. And still other student life engagements include being student council president her junior year and a member of the Model United Nation club.

Isabel will be attending college next year, but she is not sure where at this time early in her senior year, but she possesses a clear idea of what she will study, “I plan on going to college (ah college applications) for nutrition science, sustainable agriculture and hopefully a masters in public health. I really want to help feed the people on this planet without killing the planet.”

As Isabel thinks about what she appreciates about her FA experience, her mind turns to the FA faculty, “I appreciate how understanding teachers are to early athletic dismissals which shows just how much Fryeburg Academy is more than a classroom but a whole, kind, little world.”

Reminiscing further, Isabel recalls her ninth grade year and offers this for guidance to the incoming classes at FA in the coming years, “As basic as this sounds, put yourself out there and join a club or two, and please please please join a sports team (preferably a running sport especially if you are unsure). You will make some of the best friendships. Also to the ninth graders who are only here to get into college, live in the moment and to the ninth graders goofing off, think big picture.”

When listening to Isabel and the people who work with her, it is apparent that Isabel’s interests, skills, and abilities possess both the breadth and depth befitting the Renaissance woman label. Along with the theme of broad and deep interests, another theme that courses through all of her pursuits is that Isabel cares about others. It is not surprising that she is interested in finding a way to help feed her fellow human beings in an environmentally sustainable manner. The Fryeburg Academy community will miss Isabel, but we all look forward to hearing of her future pursuits and her impact on the world at large.