Winter at South High means the start of the Ski Club. The ski club, run by Mr. Earley, is a favorite throughout the student body. This isn’t just because it’s a fun activity after school, but it also gives students an opportunity to learn a new skill surrounded by their peers. Many of these students wouldn’t have learned to ski without the establishment of the Ski Club, truly showing it’s importance in the South High community.
To gain more insight into the club and it’s happenings, I interviewed Myrna Hochkeppel (class of 2025) about her experience in Ski Club.
According to Hochkeppel, a typical afternoon in Ski Club started out in Mr. Earley’s classroom. Bruce Mendelshon, a representative from Mass Hire, would visit the club and give a 30-minute presentation about a topic useful for students.
“Last year the topic was about job interviews and how to create resumes,” says Hochkeppel. After the lesson, students are taken to Wachusett Mountain by bus where they can either ski or snowboard for about four hours.
The first question that I asked Hochkeppel is why she decided to join ski club. She notes that without ski club, she might have never gotten the chance to learn and that she “wanted to take this chance!”. It is also important to note that Ski Club is open to students of all skiing levels. Hochkeppel notes that she hadn’t had any previous experience before joining the club. About learning to snowboard, she said, “it didn’t take me as long as I thought it would, but I did fall A LOT at first. But soon enough I became fairly good and can now get down slopes easily without falling just after one ski season.”
Additionally, I asked Myrna if there was any specific memory from ski club that she’d like to highlight. She noted an experience from her second week of ski club, saying “I was convinced by a few of my friends in the club to upgrade from the bunny slopes to the greens and I was terrified.” She goes on to say that boarding down the hill took almost more than an hour. Despite this, she notes “the friends that originally convinced me to go onto the slope stuck with me the entire time, cheering me on! I think this moment really encapsulates the friendships formed in ski club because two of those people I had never spoken to prior to the club.”
Upon asking Hochkeppel about her overall experience, she only had positive things to say. She notes that ski club is “easily…one of the highlights of my time in high school.” She also commented on how ski club has changed her opinion on the winter season by giving herself something to look forward to. “I even decided to purchase my own season pass after the 6 weeks of the club concluded,” she adds. She goes on to say, “Ski club is always a topic that’s brought up with fellow members of the club and even when I talk to the teachers that chaperoned. It was the perfect opportunity to join a welcoming environment at South that really encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone.”
After hearing Myrna’s experience, I’m convinced that Ski Club is one of the best opportunities offered by South High. To students thinking about joining, Myrna says, “To anyone who wants to join Ski Club, I say do it! No matter if you’re a beginner or someone who has been skiing their whole life, Ski Club is just a fun environment to be around other people who are interested in the same thing as you. Spending so much time with the same people every week allows you to make new connections with people in the building you may not have ever gotten the chance to talk to otherwise. As for beginners, if you’re scared to join because you’ve never done it before, don’t let that stop you! Wachusett had an amazing program where you can take lessons on skiing or snowboarding and can learn in no time! If cost is a concern, we’re lucky enough at South to have scholarships offered where you are able to try out skiing or snowboarding with the cost covered for you!”
