By Liam Rippel Carter Smith ‘25 arrived from Vancouver, Canada in August of 2023 with one thought in his mind, to play at a top tier collegiate program in the United States. Smith had played lacrosse for as long as he can remember, and fell in love with the game at a young age. Smith is regarded by many as a friendly and academically inclined student. Smith takes multiple AP courses, is dedicated to his studies and consistently earns Academic Honor Roll everywhere he goes. Smith mentions that his parents always push him to be his best, even when he earns an A, Smith says his father will ask him, “Why wasn’t it an A+?” “It is pretty much what I expected it to be,” said Smith, when asked about the difference between Canada and the United States. “Culturally we are very similar.” Smith has adjusted swiftly considering that he has moved to a new country. However, Smith mentions that the part of Vancouver that he lives in, which is called Maple Ridge, is really not that different from Roanoke, it has a similar population and geographic size, so that part of the transition has been the least of his concerns. Smith, living so far away from home, decided to stay with a host family over the Thanksgiving break, and when my family offered for him to stay, he gratefully accepted. Carter was well mannered and always very respectful. After he left, my mother mentioned how nice she found Smith to be. Smith got to know my family and spent some time with my siblings as well. Smith also really enjoyed the dinner that my family made. I asked him what were the differences between our Thanksgiving food and he said, “It was honestly the exact same, except for the sweet yams, there were marshmallows on the top which was different to anything I’d had before. It was very good, definitely something I’ll have to bring back to Canada.” Smith was very well liked by my family and they have mentioned they would love to have him again. Although Smith is very focused on his academic performance, the whole reason he is at North Cross is because he was recruited for lacrosse. Smith hopes to earn All-State and All-Conference this year for lacrosse, and wants to load up the stat sheet to attract attention from high level schools. Although do not mistake these goals for selfishness, Smith is a team first player, and demonstrated such, as in the winter pre-season tournament that boys lacrosse team attended, Smith tallied up a handful of assists, and although Smith is a threat on the offensive side of the field, do not underestimate him on the defensive side of the field. Smith is naturally gifted and is fast and athletic, allowing him to be proficient on the defensive side of the field. When Smith was asked about how he wanted this lacrosse season he said he wanted to “Light it up.” Additionally he talked about his hope for the team’s success, saying “team wise I’m looking to be a leader and guy my teammates can depend on.” These words are not taken lately as by Smith’s demeanor you can just tell he intends to fulfill these statements, and not just leave them as empty words. Smith is incredibly excited to get this season underway, as I am certain his teammates are looking forward to seeing his impact as well. I really enjoyed having my new friends stay with me over Thanksgiving break. Besides Carter, Mario Mitzkewitz ‘25 also stayed with me and gave me someone to hangout with over break. I enjoyed having them meet my family and experience American culture in a family setting. Both of them thanked me numerous times for letting them stay, and both and talked of having me come visit them in their home countries of Spain and Canada and offered to host me. Both of these places sound like they would be super fun to visit, and I’m hoping that one of these plans materializes, as I would love to visit another country.
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Liam Rippel
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