2021-Present

Back in Sophomore Spring, my friend Joe Brown and I recognized the dilapidated condition of the Deerfield Ski Room. We reached out to the skiers and discovered our locker was a place that was "lacking team spirit," "dark," and "congested." We embarked on this project to change that. During the past two years, we have worked closely with Dr. Payne to fine-tune our design to address the congestion problems and create a space that promotes team spirit. We proposed the project to the Athletic Office in October 2021 and Advancement Office in April 2022. The project was approved in the summer of 2022, and construction began in August. We are currently working on the project's fundraising with $50k+ of donations already accumulated. The Renovation is set to be completed by December 2022. 

- Proposed Locker Room Plan -

- Proposed Locker Design -

The ski team is a dark horse team on campus; we are a quiet team that is a consistent New England Class A podium finisher. While the other sports teams enjoy their spacious locker rooms in the new multi-million-dollar athletic complex, our ski room is tucked away in the basement of Barton, an upperclassman dorm.  

-2021 Flannel Friday

The ski room has its charisma: the broken ski pole that is the door stopper, the whiteboard doodled full of sharpie, and the tuning horses caked with ski wax. However, the congestion killed the vibe, and no one wanted to be down there more than they needed to. Naturally, we were not shocked when Coach Dancer told us about the story of when they painted the ski team logo on the wall some twenty years ago.  

- Existing Locker Condition - 

My Co-captain Joe and I have skied throughout America, and we studied architecture together with our architecture teacher Mr. Payne. We knew it was our responsibility to fix up the ski room heading into our senior season as the team's two captains. Our inspiration is to build a family dynamic by refurbishing our locker room as the first step. We sent out a survey to the team to gather input on what they wanted to be improved. Once again, unsurprisingly, everyone wanted to change, except for Coach Dancer, who was sad about the team logo being erased. We promised him to paint it back on, and he is invited to the fun. The team suggested the introduction of ski racks and cubby lockers to create a team meeting environment much like a hockey locker room. They wanted to see the tuning horse upgraded and changed. Lastly, everyone voted to keep the broken pole as the door stopper.  

Joe and I got to work in the next few months. We made cardboard models for the new lockers, rearranged the tuning benches, and cleared out an opening in the room for a team meeting/hangout spot. We took the idea to our athletic director Mr. Howe, and he was very impressed by our pitch and became an instant ally. His comment to us is something I will never forget, "You know you boys just gave a presentation better than the companies we pay thousands of dollars for." From there, we met with the Advancement office and physical plant to discuss construction timing and fundraising. The ski room is set to be renovated for the 2022 - 2023 season and has become a child of pride. I learned to communicate with adults across different professions, listen and convey, and work as a team.  

-Project Proposal to Advancement Office

- Finalized Locker Room Plan (We realized the middle wall could be taken out to create more room) -

-Finalized lockers to include skis -

I contributed to my community by seeking out the forgotten ones. The ski room will become a permanent addition to the Deerfield campus, and this project will inspire other students to seek out campus changes.  

- Construction began in August 2022  -

- Completed Ski Room -

- Move in day -