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Our community gathered in the Bodman Performing Arts Center on March 1, 2023, to celebrate a wonderful winter season.

Head of School, Christopher Cheney closed his opening remarks by addressing our student-athletes directly, “Hopefully you made some life-long friendships because that is what it is really all about.”

Rebeca Kimball, Director of Athletics kicked off the assembly by recognizing the following, “12 weeks of a season, 72 practices, 20 - 30 scheduled contests, over 110 athletes, 16 coaches, 2 MAISAD Championships,1 HOLT semifinalist, 1 MPA semifinalist, and 2 Mcdonalds All Stars, multiple league honors, and 5 senior celebrations. That’s a lot in one season.”

You can watch the full awards ceremony here and check out the gallery of images here.

 

Varsity Alpine Skiing

Most Improved Award: 

Boys - Dan P. ’25

Girls - Megan M. ’24

Most Valuable Award: 

Boys - Scott T. ’23

Girls - Josie H. ’23

Coaches Award: 

Boys - Max M. ’24

Girls - Sarah G. ’25 

MAISAD All-League Selections:

Boys: Scott T. ’23, Finn S.C. ’23, Eli R. ’24, Gavin R. ’26

Girls: Josie H. ’23, Mya J. ’25, Margaret S. ’23

NEPSAC All-League Selections: 

Boys- Scott T. ’23,  Finn S.C. ’23

NEPSAC Honorable Mentions: 

Boys - Gavin R. ’26, Eli R. ’24

 

MAISAD Champions - Boys 

MAISAD League Champion for Boys- (Scott T. ’23)

NEPSAC Championships - Boys 3rd Place 

 

Varsity Girls Hockey

Most Improved Award: Ali M. ’23

Most Valuable Award: Kaylyn B. ’25

Coaches Award: Clara-Eve L. ’23

League Record: 0-17-2

Overall Record: 3-18-2

 

Varsity Boys Hockey

Most Improved Award: Theo D. ’23

Most Valuable Award: Ryan R. ’23

Coaches Award: Ernest I. ’23
 

League Record: TBD

Overall Record: 12-19

 

JV Boys Hockey 

Most Improved Award: Chance F .’23

Most Valuable Award: Renaud G. ’25

Coaches Award: Felix B. ’24

 

League Record:

Overall Record: 

 

Varsity Boys Basketball

Most Improved Award: Joey P. ’23

Most Valuable Award: Amaan S. ’24

Coaches Award: Garrison M. ’23

 

MAISAD All-League Selections: Amaan S. ’24 and Garrison M. ’23

 

League Record: 7-8

Overall Record: 8-12

 

Varsity Girls Basketball 

Most Improved Award: Phoebe S. ’23

Most Valuable Award: Rose J. ’23

Coaches Award: Naomi M. ’23

 

MVC Awards: 

• 1st Team All-Conference: Logan M. ’23 & Rose J. ’23

• 2nd Team All-Conference: Regina S. ’23

• Honorable Mention: Naomi M. ’23, Phoebe S. ’23

McDonald’s All-Stars: Logan M. ’23,  Rose J. ’23 

 

League Record:

Overall Record:

Semifinalist for MPA Class C South Tournament 

 

JV Boys Basketball

Most Improved Award: Norris A. ’24

Most Valuable Award: Dani V. ’25

Coaches Award: Will P.’ 25

MAISAD All League Selections: Jonah J. ’25, Dani V, ’25, Walker D. ’25, Trevor B. ’25

 

League Record: 

Overall Record:

MAISAD Champions 2023

 

Most Valuable Manager Award 

Zack Braithwood ’24

 

Sportsmanship Awards 

Sarah M.R. ’22

Alex C. ’23

 

A special thanks to HOWL all season for their incredible commentary and all the behind-the-scenes work!

 

As my senior year rounds the corner into its second half, I find myself reflecting on the people who have impacted my Kents Hill experience, and I realized that there are many members of our community that I have just begun to connect with. Sure, I could name all of my classmates in an instant, but how much do I really know about my teachers and my peers? I’ve realized that I still have so much to squeeze out of this place – so many stories to hear and connections to make. So, to get a good start, I emailed Mr. Hodgin and asked if he’d be willing to sit down for an interview. I had one goal for the interview: hear a good story.

I started by asking: How’d you get here? At first, the conversation was pretty by-the-book; he told me that before going to Bowdoin College, he had been raised in Connecticut, and that his parents worked at a private school that he later attended. Our conversation ended with a philosophical ploy on why you should “maintain your independence as much as you can.” Let me catch you up.

After Mr. Hodgin graduated from Bowdoin, he received a fellowship to go to Africa, where he studied educational access and educational conditions for women and girls in Eritrea. When he returned back to the U.S., he settled in Portland, Maine with some close friends and picked up a gig at a local store. While maintaining his job, Hodgin joined a volunteer training for the sexual violence advocacy and response hotline in Portland. After he became certified, he worked in this capacity for quite some time, until he came to the conclusion that he wanted to put his education degree to use. Which brings us to today. It’s been nearly 21 years since he settled at Kents Hill School.

Within the last five minutes of our interview, I asked a question that I really wanted to know the answer to. I wanted to know what his advice was for students going onto secondary education or into career fields. “Maintain your independence as much as you can,” he advised, “and that doesn’t mean hold friends at an arm’s length.” What he meant, he clarified, was that you should go into your future demanding what you want. If you’re going to a college or university, go with an idea of what you’d like to get out of your time there. If you’re in the right place, your institution will aid you in your ambitions. “The institution, by its nature, tends to reward that. Approach things on your own terms and trust yourself to find the rewarding parts – because they’re there” he expressed.

I walked into the interview anxious, not because of the interview itself but because I had just been doing unsuccessful college research. Do I need to say that Mr. Hodgin’s words came at the right time? Well, Mr. Hodgin’s words came at the right time. I walked out of his room feeling relieved and supported, at peace with where I am and where I’m going. If you get anything out of this post, I hope it’s to talk to someone new, and to be okay with your journey. As long as you follow what you love, it’ll all work out just fine.

Hi Huskies! It’s been a while since we last talked. I hope exams treated you well, and that you are enjoying the start to a relaxing winter break.

Over November break, my AP Language class was assigned a memoir to read: Sigh, Gone by Phuc Tran. Then, during our review period for midterms, Tran virtually visited our class as part of the Grounded in Maine, Connected to the World Speaker Series. Tran discussed his book, his punk rock days, and all other probing questions my peers and I craved the answers to. It was as rewarding and insightful as you can imagine meeting an author to be, and here’s why.

The first question our class asked Tran was regarding the writing process, and how, specifically, he dealt with writer’s block. “It took about a year to finish writing [Sigh, Gone], he said, “and another year to edit.” He delved into the concept that no writing is perfect the first time, and stressed the importance of writing second, third, and as many more drafts as you need. He compared the writing process to climbing a mountain – getting to the top is writing the manuscript, the first draft, but if you want to live to tell the story, you’re going to have to climb down; you’re going to have to edit. 

The next topic that he talked about really struck home with me; how to not set so many expectations for yourself, as so much of our futures are out of our control, and therefore we often get let down by experiences that don’t go as we planned for them to. “I wish I told myself to be more curious, to ask questions if things aren’t going as you wanted them to go,” he shared. I remember that when I got to high school, I was so excited, with so many expectations because my older brother had told me all about his incredible experience. And yet, freshman year sucked, it really did. Thankfully I transferred to Kents Hill and have loved it ever since, but still, it’s the idea that I set these expectations based on what someone else had told me, and I simply upset myself when these expectations weren’t met. To say the least, it felt nice to hear someone tell their own story that connected to mine, and to give the advice I would’ve wanted a few years ago.

During the entire time Tran was talking, I was thinking about what I wanted to ask him. I had so many questions, but I wanted to ask something meaningful, something that I knew I could carry with me. So I asked: If you could teach your book, what would you teach, what would you want your students to take away from your writing?

 “I think the big takeaway that I would want any reader to take away, especially young people, is that we’re complicated people,” he answered. He then dove into this philosophy, that “we can contain multitudes,” a quote from Walt Whitman. He emphasized that this idea is especially true in the modern age of social media, where we portray ourselves 2D, literally and figuratively. We only show one side of ourselves, when in fact we’re complex beings. This answer stayed with me for a long time as someone who wishes to pursue media studies in college. How do we portray ourselves as complex beings in a digital world? Perhaps we can’t. Perhaps we simply must be more present and 3D as possible. 

So, if I were take three things away from his visit, it would be these: 

1. Writing isn’t perfect the first go-around. It takes time, it takes drafts, it takes editing.
2. Live in the moment, and avoid setting expectations for things you can’t control.
3. We’re all complicated – the internet is extremely flat, and it doesn’t do humans justice. We must strive to present ourselves as a whole when given the opportunity.