While most seniors at Stevenson are preparing for next weekend's Commencement Ceremony, former classmate Spencer Glickson sailed off (literally) into the sunset months ago.
Glickson (pictured right) graduated early from Stevenson in December to pursue his sailing dreams. Since January, he has been living, working and training at Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, New York. Oakcliff is a training and coaching center that “Builds American Leaders Through Sailing.” Athletes at Oakcliff may have goals to race around the world on a sailboat or head to the Olympics or race in the ultimate competition in sailing, the America’s Cup.
While all of that may be the end game for Glickson, he, in the meantime, is gaining practical life skills at Oakcliff, while also learning to be a more competitive sailor by putting knowledge that he gained at Stevenson to good use.
Not only is active sailing a huge part of Oakcliff, so is the science behind it. Sailors regularly repair and work on the boats to either fix problems or improve performance. Glickson jammed his course load at Stevenson with multiple "Project Lead The Way" courses. These are courses that provide "pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science to engage students in hands-on activities, projects, and problems and to empower them to solve real-world challenges."
"Project Lead The Way" courses at Stevenson such as "Intro To Engineering," "Principles Of Engineering," "Computer Integrated Manufacturing," "Digital Electronics" and "Engineering Design And Development, as well as AP Physics, have come in handy for Glickson at Oakclilff as he works on real-life mechanical issues in the boat house. One day he may be working on repairing a sail for a 40-foot match racing boat, another day he may be learning how to do composite repairs and faire gelcoat. He has also been working on carbon fiber repair and attending seminars on topics such as "Off-Shore Navigation."
"I am really proud of Spencer for completing all of his graduation requirements to embrace a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, pursuing his passion," Counselor Christina Lee said of Glickson.
That passion for sailing started early for Glickson. Throughout middle school and high school, Glickson raced smaller single- and double-handed boats. Now, he is sailing 40-foot-plus boats and is currently training and preparing for several long-distance races, including the "Block Island Race," which starts in Long Island Sound and sails around the entirety of Long Island, the "Bermuda Race," which is a 635-mile race that starts in Newport, Rhode Island in June and finishes 3 to 4 days later in Bermuda, and the local "Chicago to Mackinac Race" in July.
Then it's back to school for Glickson. He will be attending the College of Charleston in the fall to study Engineering and continue sailing.