When Nolan Laplante ’19 tells people he’s from California, many assume he means Los Angeles. But Laplante actually makes his home up in the mountains near Lake Tahoe, surrounded by a veritable wonderland of winter sports. “I’m actually one of the few people you might meet from Northern California who isn’t from San Francisco,” he says.
Laplante came to Trinity-Pawling thinking he would devote his time solely to playing hockey. “Coach Ferraris played a significant part in bringing me to the School. A mutual friend got us in contact; he watched a few of my games and welcomed me in.” But once Laplante got here, he soon realized there were many more benefits that suited his work ethic and ambitions. In particular, Trinity-Pawling’s effort system has allowed him to excel in his studies.
Last year, Laplante was named a prefect. After learning about the function of the “Prefect of Zeal,” he knew it was the role for him. But being tasked with drawing students out of their dorms wasn’t as easy as Laplante expected. Undeterred, he enlisted the help of Ms. Chapman in putting together fan buses to away games, and also upped the attendance at home games. Growing into the position led him to understand his natural infectious enthusiasm had its own effect. “Just me being full of energy and outgoing has allowed some students to feel more welcomed at the School.”
Back in October of last year, the subject of a water shortage in South Africa briefly came up during Laplante’s weekly FaceTime with his grandfather. He didn’t think much more about it, but when in March of this year Laplante travelled to South Africa on spring break, he came to experience the crisis firsthand. It seemed like a natural idea to research solutions for his Senior Independent Project. He chose to focus on the process of desalination. “I called my grandpa the moment I got stateside to recap my experience,” says Laplante. “He put me in contact with a man who was once the vice president of a desalination company.” Laplante also reached out to Trinity-Pawling alum, Claire Brown Lyons, senior strategist with Water.org. Through these contacts Laplante learned this potentially world-changing process still had a long way to go. “Desalination is a really good idea, but it won’t be successful until new technology emerges to make it more effective.” Nonetheless, Nolan sees the science — and business — of desalination and the effort of solving water scarcity as something he will pursue in the future.
by Lisa M. Kelsey