Lauren Kirwan Stars at Prep School

Lauren Kirwan rides through the emptiness of Vermont on a six-hour bus ride home to Syracuse for the first time since Sept. 25. Kirwan started the school year at Jamesville- DeWitt High School but left during the third week of school to attend North American Hockey Academy in Stowe, Vermont.
As the name suggests, NAHA is an all-girls private boarding school for female hockey players in grades 9-12. But how much different is this from our high school?

Well for starters, classes end at noon everyday. A typical day in Kirwan's shoes consists of being at her first class at 7:30 a.m, then going to six more 45- minute classes. At noon she goes to lunch. From there Kirwan heads to the rink for an hour and a half, then works out until 5 p.m. Dinner is at 5:45 p.m. then has study hall from 6-8:30 p.m., and then Kirwan has the rest of the night to herself.
She says the school portion of the Acadamy is structured like college with a lot of work on your own time. In the beginning Kirwan was sent work from Jamesville- Dewitt High School but with such a busy schedule, it became difficult. Now she has her own tutor teaches her according to NAHA's curriculum. And JDHS is even going to treat her as a transfer student when she returns in March because it's so different.

Despite the many differences from JDHS, Kirwan does not see herself at an academic disadvantage. She says it definitely makes it a lot harder but if you do your own stuff and stay on top of it, things are a lot easier.

By keeping her priorities straight, Kirwan has excelled both academically and athletically at NAHA. She currently leads her team with 15 goals in 19 games. Her team has a 15-4 record so far this season. "Lauren works hard and brings energy to the team," says teammate Ashlynne Rando.
Kirwan still has 61 more games to play for the Winter Hawks between now and March. For these games she will travel all over the East and West Coast, as well as into Canada. Despite traveling frequently Kirwan manages time to maintain her A average. "It's a lot of work, but it's still fun," says Kirwan.

This performance reflects how she got into NAHA. Every year hundreds of elite female hockey players apply to the school, but only a select group are accepted. It's like being selected for a college team. Coaches watch and evaluate the players' performances and then the outstanding athletes are formally invited to join the program. Girls are selected from all over North America, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, and even from Canada.

Kirwan's situation is extremely uncommon here at JD, but it has been done before. In 2005 Matt Firman left before his junior year to attend a hockey prep school. He now plays Division 1 hockey for Colgate University. It's very difficult to be away from school for so long but Principal Paul Gasparini has faith that Kirwan will be just as successful. "She's going to do great, I'm rooting for her 100 percent," he says.

Kirwan admits that she misses her friends and family back in Syracuse, however, she is grateful for the opportunity that NAHA has presented to her. As for now Kirwan is focused on doing well this season but is eager to return home in March.