Senior Spotlight: Gabe Martindale

1.  How long have you been at WDS?

I stepped onto the Woodstock Day School campus nine years ago as a small, nervous, blond headed boy with hair covering my eyes. Nine years later, I am a confident, well connected, young man, and I could not be more thankful for that decision. I have cherished every single year that I’ve spent on WDS soil, since the first. At the Woodstock Day School I have been nurtured by what I can call my beautiful community, and my rational, diligent, witty, and sincere teachers. 

2. What did you learn at WDS that you feel prepared you for this next step?

I’ve learned how to be myself, which has prepared me more than I could ever imagine. The Woodstock Day School has granted me the unprecedented opportunity to find what truly drives me as an individual, and how to anchor myself in knowledge and wisdom. I was taught as a student and as a human being; I was taught that growth is derived from trial, I was taught that there is more than just one way of being successful, and I was taught what it means to be a person of logic and reason. Most indelible and important to me is that I have been taught how to harbor meaningful, lifelong, and irreplaceable relationships with others.  

3. Why did you choose your particular school/gap year/job?

I am ninety nine percent sure that I have settled on attending Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. For three main reasons. One: The Westcoast winds draw me near, but the warmth is undeniably the only real reason. Two: Lewis and Clark offers groundbreaking psychology programs and courses that are recognized by many. And just like WDS, Lewis and Clark is known for their sincere and caring teachers. And finally number three: Lewis and Clark gives me a chance to reset, and root myself into a completely different part of the country to begin doing what I love most: developing new connections with meaningful people. 

3.  Please share a particularly fond memory of your time at WDS.

In 4th grade I was put on the varsity soccer team, and soon enough I was in the starting line up. Curtis Evans (Curt) was the only coach I knew. He taught me what it took to be a player. If you weren’t running, you were off the field. I loved to play, because I got this sort of adrenaline rush whenever I stepped onto the field. I played as a midfielder, and as a midfielder you are expected to do the most running. You’re not only playing defence, but you are playing offence, as well as protecting the middle line. I would hear Curt screaming at the top of his lungs, “DON’T STAND STILL!” to our entire team, anytime we didn’t have possession of the ball. He started to tell all the Seniors, Joniors, Sophomores, and so on to watch me. He said “Gabe is PACMAN, he doesn’t stop running.” And for the rest of my days while Curtis Evans was at WDS he called me the PACMAN. I will never forget that, it made that little nervous 4th grader me feel special.

4.  Any advice for the Class of 2021?

Decide, Commit, Dominate. Decide what you want, Commit to that idea, and Dominate it without looking back. Hesitation will hinder your motivation and soon you will be confronted with the face of failure. Giving up is not a choice, push yourself through the entangled jungle of stress and anxiety with the notion and knowledge that it will transform itself into joy and satisfaction, and that is what the human species call success.