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12 | on the mountain winter/spring 2012
SKS
|
Student Profiles
Hailing from a small commu-
nity in upstate New York, 10
th
grader Dominique D. feels
The Storm King School offers
her opportunities to partici-
pate in various activities she
doesn’t have back home.
Dominique’s mother, Michele
says she “feels confident that
SKS is the right ‘fit’ for her
daughter. Exposure to people
from so many countries is
wonderful for my daughter
who was raised in a rural area
in upstate New York. ‘Nique’
wouldn’t have been able to
experience the wide variety
of arts, sports, where we live.
I appreciate the faculty and
staff who positively challenge
Nique to work to new levels
of understanding and not just
settle for average.”
Dominique echoes her
mother’s feelings about
the importance of finding
a school that “fit” for her.
When she first visited the
school she was impressed by
the course offerings and the
extracurricular activities that
were offered. She liked that
the small class sizes meant
really getting to know your
teachers and classmates while
being given personalized
attention. These experiences
and opportunities were what
made her ultimately choose to
attend SKS.
When she first started she
felt a bit overwhelmed. “I
was the baby of the fam-
ily and the first days I felt
lonely, scared and nervous
but everyone helped me fit
right in.” She quickly made
friends and became close with
her teachers. “I would say my
relationship with my teachers
is a close one. I know if I need
help with my studies or some-
thing a little more personal I
can go to them. Most of them
are like mentors to me and I
really take in what they have
to say.”
Dominique has become
involved in many activities.
She has enjoyed acting, direct-
ing and stage managing with
the SKS theater club. She
also writes and works on the
literary magazine,
The Voice
and takes dance classes. A new
athletic opportunity has pre-
sented itself to Dominique as
the coxswain on the relatively
new crew team.
Feeling the importance of
giving back to the communi-
ty, she volunteers at the Cen-
ter for Hope in Newburgh
with the Cougar Boosters.
She also participates in the
SKS Women’s Group, 2Xist.
Having proven her maturity
and responsibility, she was
Dominique D., 10
th
Grade
Katrina W., 12
th
Grade
selected as a dorm leader in
Highmount this year and
assists the Admissions Office
with giving campus tours. It
seems that Dominique did
find the right “fit” at SKS
after all.
As a sophomore, she
says “her ideas of future
careers change as often as the
weather on the mountain.”
One day she wants to be a
speech-language pathologist
or newscaster, the next day
a detective. Today though,
after watching one of her
favorite crime scene dra-
mas, she would like to be a
forensic scientist. Whatever
path Dominique ultimately
chooses, it will surely be a
fulfilling and rewarding one.
Katrina W. remembers the
first time she visited The
Storm King School and saw
the beautiful views of the
Hudson River. She reminisces
about how she was imme-
diately welcomed by the
friendly students and staff.
She felt at home.
Now as a senior, Katrina
looks back fondly on all the
memories she’s made on the
campus and the family of
friends and mentors she has
gained.
Katrina chose to attend
SKS because of the academic
and athletic opportunities
that would provide her with
a well rounded education.
Coming from Shanghai, her
education was more about
testing so she spent most
of her time studying. Most
importantly she gets “knowl-
edge from books and real life
at the same time. I started
to realize that discussions,
experiments and participa-
tion are just as important
to learning as book study-
ing.” Katrina appreciates the
friendly relationship she has
with the faculty at SKS. She
can always talk to them about
anything going on in her life
and they are always available
if she needs extra help. “Liv-
ing and studying at SKS is
so meaningful and awesome
especially with all these adults
around me. It is really impor-
tant for boarding students to
have people to support us like
the SKS faculty does.”
continued on page 32