Meet Northwest Alum ‘14 Ghislaine: “Hi, my name is Ghislaine Pagès, and I graduated from Northwest in 2014. I attended Barnard College for undergrad and NYU for Law School. I am now a Staff Attorney at the Metropolitan Public Defender.
Something I loved about my time at Northwest is the way my teachers and coaches found joy in their own work, held us to high standards because they believed in us, and truly cared about the wellbeing of everyone they worked with.
Northwest prepared me to write well in college by teaching me how to outline and structure papers so my thoughts were more clear and longer papers were more manageable. Humanities classes prepared me to take notes in college, review things as I went, and how to study for big tests.
Northwest’s emphasis on community and accountability have stayed with me post high school - they were a factor in my rather single-minded pursuit of public defense. The exceptional opportunities that Northwest presented me, the formative guidance from teachers who genuinely cared about me and my wellbeing and future highlighted how lucky I was to have this community.
Northwest teachers and coaches took time to see their students, listen and be patient, and be a resource for us, helping me understand the value of these relationships and seek to be that for the young people I work with today.
Overall, Northwest showed me we can have strong communities when our youth are listened to, unconditionally supported, and resourced.”