What defines a Redwing summer?

On June 3 the 2015-2016 school year came to a close for most students and faculty, and summer officially began for the Benet Academy community. Finally, a chance to relax after the academic hard work was completed. This year, the Redwing summer was filled with travel, competition and volunteer work abroad and at home. Aruba, Britain, India, Ireland, Mexico — these are just a few countries that the Redwings flew to this summer.

Alie Oates ‘18 and Adeline Collins ‘19 both went with their respective choirs and sang at various places in Europe. Collins said,“I don’t think I’ll ever forget the privilege of being able to perform in so many different and special places… Just learning about the history of all of the places we visited was downright amazing.”

Aavia Shetty ‘19 and Dilany Aliaga ‘18 visited family and revisited their cultural heritage in India and Mexico, respectively. “I went to India to meet the older generations… [but also] it was just a tropical and calming place for me to relax and unwind from the hectic school year,” said Shetty. On the national scale, Redwings flew all over the country to Alaska cruises, New York shopping and show trips, Michigan lake houses and Texas dude ranches.

Some of our athletes were still hard at work during the summer. Senior Nicole Farolan ‘17 and junior Isabella Newhuis’18 are both competitive figure skaters. Farolan trained at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. After a week of training, they had an exciting competition. Newhuis competed with her team, Creative Ice Theater. Her team placed second, allowing her to compete at Worlds in Ann Arbor, Mich. next year. She placed 4th for interpretive skating at the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating National Showcase Competition.

Theater productions run all through the year. A few performances showcased our students including BAMtheater’s “West Side Story” and Little Mountain Community Theater’s “Fiddler on the Roof”. Anna Hughes ‘18 and Frank Gomulka ‘18 were both thrilled to be apart of these performances.

Freshman Elizabeth Kluzack ‘20, aviation enthusiast was very excited to learn that she was getting an airplane for the first time this summer. She frequents the EAA Airventures every summer and is excited to have a plane of her own to do aerobatics.

When asked about why she volunteers, Clare Johnson ‘19 replied, “I volunteer to be a friendly face to these participants, to lend a loving hand and to have fun with them. I come home tired from volunteering, but I also come home with a smile because the participants make me joyful when I seem them smile.” Many of our students volunteer in different areas year round. Johnson volunteered at SEASPAR, a special recreation association for adults and children with disabilities. Maggie Dunn ‘18 volunteered with her church to spend time and and build houses with the the poor in Jamaica. Elaina Milani ‘18 worked with her middle school in preparation for the upcoming school year and in prayer. Sarah Habeck ‘18 was a Teen Education Volunteer at the Cosley Zoo, and Ryan Habeck ‘18 trained the future leaders of America at the National Youth Leadership Training for Boy Scouts. They all spent their summer making a difference.

So, what defines a Redwing summer? As Redwings, we strive for excellency in all that we do. This summer we also worked in prayer to keep close to God and one another. Like our alma mater says, we “work and pray in all that we may do.”