When Isaiah started at Waterside, the School didn’t have the turf or field that it does today.  He remembers tossing a football around with Mr. Keels, his third-grade teacher at the time.  “It was really cool having a Black male teacher, much less one that played football.  He was a huge inspiration for me; he made learning fun, but at the same time we knew we had to take it seriously.”  Twelve years later, Mr. Keels is now the Head of School, and Isaiah is the one playing college football.  He credits Waterside with teaching him to take advantage of every opportunity along his journey, no matter how challenging the journey might be.

From Waterside, Isaiah went on to Eaglebrook School and eventually to Taft School, where he served as captain of the football team as well as a School Prefect.  In this role, he not only ran all campus-wide events, but more importantly he served on the Honor Court and as a liaison between the student body and the Head of School.  He started Bowdoin in 2019, only to have his freshman year and his second football season interrupted by COVID 19.  “I could have gotten down about it, but I know in the grand scheme of things how lucky I am.  Instead I’ve just used this time to explore other passions.”  An economics major, Isaiah worked as an accounting intern at Rhone in Stamford last summer, and this year he has secured an internship at CatRock Capital.  “Waterside has opened so many doors for me. I only hope that I can pay it forward someday.”