In High School: I was an average student who didn't care about grades because I thought that I would get an athletic scholarship to college regardless of them. Not being accepted at any of the colleges that I had applied to senior year was a big wake up call for me.
Heard About BA: A teammate's father mentioned the idea of prep school and BA to my father, and we looked up BA on the Internet. I recognized the fact that I needed to get out of the norm, but actually doing it was a whole other thing for me. I wasn't excited about it, but I was open to it.
Goals at BA: I want to be able to choose a college from several acceptances rather than to have to settle for one choice. Also, as a lacrosse goalie, I want to play lacrosse in college, not just ride the bench.
BA is Different From High School: Because of the environment and study hall. In high school, I did well on tests and class participation, but I never did homework?I just didn?t want to. I had a huge social life, and that always took priority over academics. Here, you live with your friends so you see them all the time, and I have developed a routine of doing homework in study hall. Everyone is pushing, everyone cares. In high school, I was happy if I earned above a C; this year, if I don't do well, I take it personally, and that's a huge difference.
Best Thing About BA: The environment, the faculty, and the athletics. We are all so different, but in exactly the same position, which makes it easy because we don't have to worry about what others are thinking--we are all going through the same thing, and that takes a lot of pressure off because we can all relate to each other. Also, the faculty really cares about the students, and the tenacity that they have to keep pushing us is very different from teachers in high school. They force us to care, and that's what we all need if we want to succeed in college.
Worst Thing about BA: The food, but I guess it's just institutional food.
Activities at BA: Lacrosse; Admission Ambassador; Leadership Council; art; paintball; and playing piano in a band.
Activities Outside BA: Extreme sports! Bungee jumping, sky diving, rock climbing, mountain biking, cliff diving, and anything crazy.
Role Model: My parents, particularly my father as a male role model. My father is always there for me and always has the answers. The confidence that he has in himself to trust his judgment--that's something I hope I will develop as I grow older. My high school tutor also has had a great impact on me academically because she didn't just tell me to or show me how to do the work; she made me care about it. Today, she remains a mentor and friend.
Favorite Book: Holes by Louis Sachar.
Favorite Movie: Out Cold, a snowboarding movie.
Favorite Sports Team: Washington Redskins.
Favorite Music: Three Doors Down and Nickelback.
Friends Would be Surprised to Learn About You: I have traveled to more than twelve countries; I play four instruments; and I love to cook.
In High School: I slept through my first two years. In my junior year, I was named Defenseman MVP of the state lacrosse championship. At the end of that, year my lacrosse coach took me aside and told me that if I wanted to play college lacrosse, I would have to push hard my senior year because school is not just sports; it's the academics because you're not going to play lacrosse for the rest of your life - you have to get an education and do something with your life. I listened, did much better, and was named a high school All-American lacrosse player.
Heard About BA: When my team won the state championship, one of my coaches was Coach Bamann, BA '00, and the other was Coach Hayden, who was the roommate of Mr. Tevlin (BA Director of Development) at Rutgers. Both of them encouraged me to attend BA.
Goals at BA: I?d like to attend a Division 1 school and play lacrosse there.
Best Thing About BA: What I like the most about BA is the same thing that most people dislike the most: study hall. It's not fun to do, but I don't mind it, and the results show in my grades.
Worst Thing About BA: Not seeing my family, especially my dog Molly, a three year-old chocolate lab.
Role Model: My mother, because she has always supported me. When I was doing poorly in high school, she just encouraged me to keep trying harder. I've never worried about telling her anything. Hopefully, I'll be able to pay her back somehow some day.
Favorite Book: Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. Mitch is a lot like me.
Favorite Movie: A funny, old Disney movie called Heavyweights.
Favorite Sports Team: The University of North Carolina Tarheels.
Favorite Music: Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson.
Friends Would Be Surprised To Learn About You: When I was a child, I used to dance. I also used to dive until I discovered lacrosse in the 7th grade.
In High School: During my freshman and sophomore years, school was difficult for me. When my basketball team won the state championship my sophomore year, I wasn't on it due to my grades, and that really hurt. Although I had never wanted to be tested for a learning disability because I didn?t want to be labeled, missing the state championship game motivated me to get tested, and this helped me a lot because I discovered that I could work at my own pace and succeed in school. I stayed hungry, did my work, and my grades improved in both my junior and senior years.
Heard About BA: A basketball coach from Marist College recommended it to me. Coach Whit was the first prep school coach to call me, and continued to call me so I felt very comfortable coming to play for him.
Goals at BA: I?d like to earn a college scholarship, but I really want to learn so that I will succeed in college, where I'd like to study sports medicine.
BA is Different From High School: Because everyone here is the same. No one is looked at differently; it's a new situation for everybody.
Best Thing About BA: The faculty and staff because they are here to help you no matter what; no one will let you fail or quit. It?s a really nice community. Supervised study hall also helps me a lot because if I were in my room, I might not finish all of my homework sometimes, whereas if I am in study hall, I work until it's over.
Worst Thing About BA: The weather, because it always changes. You can start out wearing warm clothes because it?s cool, but by the end of the day, you have to change again because it's hot.
Activities: Basketball. When I was younger, I took up fencing, and even won a scholarship because I was good at it.
Role Model: My mother because of the way she handles herself - honest, helping, and caring to others - which is the way she raised me to be. She is always there for me no matter what, and has had the biggest influence on me. She wants me to succeed academically, and I don?t want to let her down.
Favorite Book: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, the story of a Jewish girl's life as her family ran from Hitler, and The Giver, also by Lowry, about a boy who learns to see things differently in a society in which everything is same.
Favorite Movie: Glory Road, Coach Carter and other basketball movies.
Favorite Sports Team: I like all Philly teams, especially the 76ers and the Phillies.
Favorite Music: I like R & B, jazz, and rap.
Friends Would Be Surprised To Learn About You: Most of the time, I am calm, nice, and smiling, but when I get on the basketball court, I'm a different person. I have a real competitive streak because I don't like to lose, so I play hard and with a lot of emotion - a whole different side of me.
Heard About BA: My parents and I had been using an educational consultant for my college plans since my sophomore year of high school, and we decided that Regis University in Denver, Colorado, would be a good fit for me. Although I have been accepted to Regis with a scholarship, the consultant suggested deferring my enrollment there and attending BA for another year of maturity and for taking college credit courses in a small environment before making the transition to college.
Best Thing About BA: The camaraderie in Fernald House, my dorm. Also, I've been taking Current Political Issues with Mr. Lesure, and I am enjoying discussing current events in class.
Worst Thing About BA: For me, the distance from home, as Seattle is completely across the country from North Bridgton. There is not much to do in North Bridgton, whereas there is so much to do in Seattle.
Activities at BA: I am concentrating on academics and lifting weights.
Role Model: My father. He is the most understanding and patient man that I know, which makes him a great mediator.
Favorite Book: Enders Game by George Orwell. I couldn't put it down, and no other book has done that for me.
Favorite Movie: I enjoy comedies, especially those starring Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler, as well as action movies.
Favorite Sports Team: Seattle Seahawks.
Favorite Music: I listen to reggae, jazz, and some mainstream rap.
UNICE KARMUE Home: Originally, Liberia; since 1997, Providence, Rhode Island.
In High School: I wasn?t a good student, but I wasn?t a bad student either; I just didn?t work that hard. At BA, I am learning that if you don?t put in the work, you won?t be successful.
Heard About BA: BA Head Soccer Coach O'Rourke had coached me a number of times in Rhode Island, and he told me to call him at Bridgton if I needed a PG year. At the end of my junior year, I was doing better in my classes, but not extremely well, and while all my friends were applying to college senior year, I asked my father if I could do a PG year.
Goals at BA: My goals here are to work hard, mature, get into a good college, and become a better person.
BA is Different From High School: In high school, I didn?t have the responsibility of living on my own, and I was afraid that if I didn?t mature, I would flunk out of college my freshman year. At BA, although I am on my own, I am living with other guys who are from different states and countries, but who all have the same goal - to prepare for college. If I had gone to college this year, I might have failed out, and I didn't want to do that.
Best Thing About BA: Everything is about discipline here, and I think that all the students in this environment need discipline.
Activities at BA: Soccer team; Diversity Group; Leadership Council; Big Brother Program; and Harvest Hills Animal Shelter volunteer.
Role Model: The first one is my father. Although he was not educated formally, he is extremely smart; he always knows the right thing to do and to say, and he never quits. My second role model is Nelson Mandela. He went to jail for 26 years for standing up for what he believed in, for wanting to free his people, and that took great courage. My third role model is my brother Peter, who attends the University of West Virginia. He is always challenging, motivating, and supporting me. Whenever I feel like I have reached my limit, he encourages me to push beyond it, to become a better person.
Favorite Book: Two of my favorites are The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz and Moral Courage by Rushworth M. Kidder.
Favorite Movie: Crash and Finding Forester
Favorite Sports Team: I am a big soccer fan, and my favorite teams are Manchester United in England and Rio Madrid.
Favorite Music: I listen to everything, but mostly R & B.
Friends Would Be Surprised To Learn About You: That I get mad sometimes. My father taught me to respect everyone regardless of age, race, ethnicity, etc. Usually, I'm happy and don't get mad, but when I do, you don't want to see me!
A.J. HIMES 
ROSS THORNTON 
PARIS HORNE
MICHAEL ISLEY
UNICE KARMUE