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Sugar Bowl Academy graduates nine student athletes

Special to the Sun
Nine student athletes graduated from Sugar Bowl Academy on Saturday, June 16.
Courtesy of Sugar Boawl Academy

Excitement was in the air as Sugar Bowl Academy graduated nine seniors on June 16 at the Mount Judah Lodge.

In keeping with Sugar Bowl Academy tradition, underclassman introduced graduating seniors individually before awarding them with their diplomas.

The speeches by the underclassmen demonstrated the important leadership role the seniors play in the academy’s community and highlighted aspects of each graduate’s personality and character.



Cooper Davis, Angela Elder, Reaves Forrest, Chloe Gorman, Eleanore Hamilton, Sophie Hudson, Olivia Omar, Peter Schadlich and Mackenzie Winton all received diplomas. The 2018 SBA class was one of the most diverse geographically graduating classes and were accepted to 30 different colleges and universities, including Rice University, University of Saint Andrews, Scripps College, George Washington University, Whitman College and Reed College. The entire graduating class has committed to the college or university of their choice. The class of 2018 was awarded $1.45 million in merit based scholarships.

Truckee local and alpine International Ski Federation athlete Gwen Wattenmaker was named the Tracy Keller Student-Athlete of the Year. This award signifies the outstanding effort a Sugar Bowl Academy student-athlete makes both on and off the snow.



Wattenmaker has distinguished herself on the hill, finishing in the top 20 at three university races. She also finished in the top 30 at Nor-Am races four times.

Callum Welsh, junior from Crystal Bay, Nevada, earned the Williams College Book Award for his leadership in the classroom and contributions to the extracurricular life of the school. Welsh is a member of the chess club and has been teaching chess to Sugar Bowl Academy students.

This year, he is organizing a literacy club for student-athletes to go out into the community and help teach reading skills.

This year’s Harleen Family Citizenship Award went to Truckee resident, senior Sophie Hudson. This award honors a student who exemplifies positive spirit and who is dedicated to the betterment of the Sugar Bowl Academy community. The award is named after one of the Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy’s founding families.

Valedictorian and local Truckee resident, Eleanore Hamilton spoke to the graduating class about uniqueness of the small senior class, and the opportunities we all have to change the world.

“People have been asking the nine of us for the last year variations on the same questions, ‘What are you going to do in the world?’” said Hamilton. “If each of us did one thing, (one) small thing for the world, how large of an impact could the nine of us make?

“So, I challenge each and every one of you here to do one small thing — shift from what you are doing in the world, to what you are doing for the world.”


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