One by one, the 79 graduates of Northwood School’s Class of 2025 made their way underneath the bell and resoundingly swung the rope to strike the clapper against it. Many were grinning, some were holding back tears and others appeared awestruck by the gravity of the moment — that their time as Northwood students was now over.

It was the last exercise of a commencement steeped in tradition — this year marked Northwood’s 118th iteration. And it was the only part of the ceremony that took place outside of the large tent set up on the school’s campus.

The tent sheltered the commencement exercises that went on uninterrupted as powerful lightning storms pushed through the area. The pelting rain and rumbling thunder could be heard every now and then, mostly in between speakers when the tent’s surround-sound audio system momentarily fell silent, allowing nature’s forces to be heard.

The brief pause in inclement weather for the ceremony’s outdoor portion was just one instance of luck, a microcosm emblematic of a larger picture that Sophia DeAnzeris, one of the class speakers, dedicated much of her address to: just how lucky her class was to have received an education at Northwood.

Northwood graduate Marie-Jeanne Cazes, of Lac-Beauport, QC, Canada embraces Carrie Wadlaw, so serves as Northwood’s senior associate director of admissions, at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

“While reflecting on my thoughts and emotions, I wanted to convey there was one phrase that I kept coming back to,” she said. “It’s one that repeatedly connected all my thoughts on our shared Northwood experience. My teammates … all know the clockwork of this phrase. I said it pretty much every morning getting off the bus at the rink, regardless of the time, weather or weekend results. The phrase: How lucky are we?”

Fighting back tears, DeAnzeris said it was something to reflect upon at a time when students were feeling so many mixed emotions. She said these included success, achievement, change and fear of goodbyes.

“How lucky are we to have been able to call Lake Placid our home?” she said. “Surrounded by six million acres of the most beautiful Earth that God created. The slopes, rock faces, luge tracks, soccer fields and, for a good chunk of us, a rink that most hockey players could have only dreamed of calling their home. How lucky are we to have chosen Northwood as a place to hone our athletic and personal pursuits?”

DeAnzeris spoke about the class’s various athletic and scholastic achievements before turning to its soft side — as a collective team comprised of thoughtful, caring and compassionate individuals. The 79 students came from near and far. Fifteen members of the class grew up locally in the Tri-Lakes region — a figure identical to the number of U.S. states represented in the class. The class includes 26 international students from 11 different nations.

“How lucky are we to be part of the Northwood community?” she said. “A community that welcomes each one of us with open arms, no matter what part of the world we are from, or the reason for being here.”

Members of Northwood School’s Class of 2025 clap during the school’s commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

DeAnerzis began by telling the audience that she was nervous while preparing — not just for the fear of speaking in front of a crowd of several hundred — but for trying to pack so many thoughts, thank-you’s and advice into one speech limited to eight minutes.

Toward the end, however, DeAnerzis turned back to the concept of time — reflecting on it not as a constraint, but as a gift.

“Life is filled with uncertainties,” she said. “But the one consistent thing in life is that time never stops. In a way, that’s the beauty of it. … The power of time comes from the fact that you can never take it back. It’s true. Never stop living for yourself, what you believe in and who you love.”

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Northwood and the next chapter

Northwood graduate Julianne Brochu, of St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, QC, Canada rings the Victory Bell at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

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The second class speaker was Cedric Lemaire. He joked that he was initially “bewildered” to have been chosen to speak, given how he had first met Michael Maher, the head of school, who had the final say on choosing commencement speakers.

“Our first interaction was sitting across from each other in a disciplinary meeting after breaking not one, not two but three school rules,” he said as laughs broke out. “I didn’t even know (they) were rules.”

It was only up from there for Lemaire. He graduated in the top 10% of the class and came back to Northwood for the ceremony after fulfilling his graduation requirements in December. He left high school early when he had the opportunity to take his athletic talent to the NCAA Division I level. Lemaire is currently enrolled at Rutgers University, where he is a defender on the varsity men’s soccer team.

Speaking from experience, Lemaire focused much of his speech on how Northwood prepared him for the transition to college, laying out a blueprint for his classmates and potentially allaying nervousness.

Northwood graduate Jace Donawa, of Sandys, Bermuda, rings the Victory Bell at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

“I can guarantee Northwood is one of those places that you can trust that giving yourself to the community will make a difference,” he said.

Lemaire said Northwood helped to push students, especially as their time there concluded, to reach outside of their comfort zones and make new connections with classmates whom they might not have been especially close with.

“(It) helped me make genuine connections in a place (Rutgers) where I could have been surrounded by thousands but connected to no one,” he said. “That impulse to reach out to include, to build community — that’s what made all the difference.”

Lemaire added that Northwood taught him the importance of making sure others are there to help and look out for him, and gave him the social skillset to affect that.

“At Northwood, someone always notices when you’re having an off-day, or when you’ve grown in some small but meaningful way,” he said. “In college, no one knows who you are unless you show them. So, I brought that same honesty and openness with me. I introduced myself with intention, made eye contact and held the door open. Those habits that were instilled in me helped me stand out in a place where it’s easy to disappear.”

Northwood graduate Arielle Haccoun Choquette, of Westmount, QC, Canada rings the Victory Bell at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

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Commencement speaker

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This year’s commencement speaker was Pam Scheideler ’90, who currently serves as the U.S. Brand Chair and head of U.S. Digital for Edelman, the largest communications firm in the world by both revenue and staff size. In her roles, she provides public relations and media advice, social media strategy and AI readiness to some of today’s largest businesses. Scheideler joined Northwood’s board of trustees in 2023.

She began her speech by commending the two student speakers on their advice and drawing a connection between it and her mindset, professionally and personally.

“It’s actually not surprising that our comments and our reflections are very similar,” she said. “Because we’re made from the same cloth. The same community that built me feels like the Class of 2025.”

Scheideler attributed much of her early success to the technological opportunities Northwood gave her 35 years ago. She said the school has done well to grow and expand since her time there, keeping pace with the explosion in technological advancements nationally and globally.

As basic as it might seem today, Scheideler said being familiar with email when she graduated from Northwood was not a common skill then. It gave her a huge leg up when she studied at the University of New Hampshire and began working in that state immediately after graduating there.

“Northwood’s future-facing posture shaped my entire career,” she said.

Scheideler said Northwood’s rigor — even as it manifested itself harshly at times — was indispensable in preparing her to navigate the highest echelons of the business world. She cited her senior project as particularly impactful.

“It taught me how to have my work torn to shreds … and to not take it personally,” she said. “This would come in handy as I made a career in advertising, which is notoriously disdainful for excess words and demands complete alignment between business strategy, creative strategy, art and execution.”

Scheideler’s career took off in the late 1990s when she was able to leverage her digital fluency — which was novel at the time — along with her soft skills to position herself as one of the emerging leaders in online marketing and public relations strategies. She said the key was thinking one step ahead of how today’s world works.

“I represent the kind of future no one sees coming, but the kind you are all very prepared for,” she said. “Northwood provided both you and me with a toolbox. In my experience, that toolbox has everything you need to walk into any room, and any situation, with confidence.”

Scheideler brought her speech home by offering five tangible pieces of advice. She cautioned that while these may seem straightforward in the moment, the trick — and more difficult aspect of using them to one’s benefit — is to remember them long into the future.

The first is to create a team culture everywhere you go. Scheideler’s second piece of advice is to “run for the unknown” — especially as AI continues to rapidly expand and become a part of daily life.

The third piece of advice is to make strong bonds and connections with people — and to keep those alive by staying in touch with people over the long run. After all, she said, you never know when you might need to rely most heavily on knowing a particular person. Her fourth was to read often. If you’ve made it this far in the article, you’re probably already in good shape.

Scheideler’s final advice was something she acknowledged may become more difficult as many students relocate to more urban areas in regions without the abundance of outdoor opportunities the Adirondacks provide.

“Go outside,” she said. “There may come a time when you are not living on one of the most beautiful playgrounds on the planet and you’ll have to make an effort to get outside. But when you do, spending time in nature will center you.

“It will slow you down and quiet everything, and you’ll need that regularly,” she said. “It’ll breathe right back here to this moment, to this place, where we’re all breathing this special air surrounded by coaches and teachers and parents and friends.”

Northwood School graduate Augustine “Gus” Garvey, of Livingston Manor, walks forward after ringing the Victory Bell at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Northwood graduate Hilary Wilkin, of Waverly, NS, Canada rings the Victory Bell at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Northwood graduate Lucas Campion, of Tynemouth, England, rings the Victory Bell at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Northwood graduate Machai Davis, of Pembroke, Bermuda, double high-fives school faculty and staff members after ringing the Victory Bell at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Northwood graduate Andrew “Drew” Donatello rings the Victory Bell at the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid as his dad, Andrew Donatello, front, and Thomas Broderick, left, watch. All three are of Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Mother-daughter duo Carrie, left, and Teegan Wardlaw ‘25 embrace as Thomas Broderick watches Trey Frantz ‘25 ring the Victory Bell — all four are of Lake Placid — at Northwood School’s 2025 commencement ceremony held Saturday in Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)