Jack L. So Jack wrote me this: “I've spent much of high school working with Best Buddies, tutoring kids from families in need, and working with Cool Cats Special Needs Ice Hockey. I've found these activities to be especially rewarding, as I can help others while spending time with my friends that are also involved.”
Let’s stop right there. As a hockey parent I know all about the Cool Cats. They play hockey at the local rink. The organization partners young adults and children with special needs—but who love the sport of hockey—with kids from area high schools who also happen to love the sport.
Many times I’ve been at the rink, waiting for practice, and I’ve walked over to the other sheet of ice to watch Cool Cats practice. It’s a beautiful thing. Jack adds, “My love of sports has also been a defining factor of my high school life. Playing hockey and going to countless sporting events with my friends are just how I would like to spent my free time. The loss of this has easily been the hardest part of quarantine, but nonetheless my family and I have been extremely lucky. I hope to keep on doing all of these things during my next four years at the University of Notre Dame, where I will dual major in finance and mathematics.”
We know you’ll succeed, and then some, Jack. **** No prom, no cap and gown, no graduation ceremony. No problem. Next stop, greatness. The senior class of Yorktown High School, Arlington, Virginia. A photo essay by Matt Mendelsohn. Note: All photographs made using long lens. Photographer wore mask and gloves.
Location: Arlington, Virginia.