Hi, my name is Lila Forde and I graduated from NWS in 2017! I am a full-time musician based in Los Angeles, CA and was a contestant on Season 24 of @nbcthevoice!
I have such fond memories of my time at NWS, from the friends, to the rigorous humanities classes, to the caring teachers that held us to the highest standards so we’d be ready to fly in the “real” world. I have to say, my favorite memories of NWS were on the frisbee field. I played all four years of high school, coached by our fearless leader, Mark Burton. Rainy day practices, sweaty school busses on the way to tournaments, and the incomparable joy of winning a game that has been tied up the whole time. I not only learned how to be an athlete on the NWS frisbee team, but a teammate, a leader, and how to hold my head high when things didn’t go the way we wanted. These are lessons I’ve used far beyond my time at Northwest.
I went on to study music in college and although that had not been my primary focus at Northwest, the lessons I learned there still applied. The teachers and classes at Northwest taught me how to think critically, to think outside of the box, and how to speak up in class even if my thoughts or ideas seemed different from those around me.
Most importantly, my time at Northwest taught me that it’s worthwhile to take risks! Choosing to be a musician is certainly an unconventional path, but Northwest taught me that high risks reap high rewards. I’m forever grateful! #nwsalumnistories