Senior of the Year: Alex Rosen

By HENRY WISE ‘27

As students walk along the path on campus at Phillips Exeter Academy, traveling from one class to the next, you could ask them about many students at this school. ‘Do you know him?’ ‘Do you know her?’ It’s always a wild card whether or not the student you ask will know of the student, but there is one senior who everybody knows by just mentioning their name. 

Alex Rosen, a boarding student in Soule Hall, is a four-year senior, active in many different clubs and activities around campus. Being the co-head of LAL (La Alianza Latina), ALES (Afro Latinx Exonian Society), Model United Nations, a proctor in Soule Hall, and captain of the boys varsity water polo and wrestling teams, Rosen has a huge job to do on campus every day of the week. For his past two years at Exeter, Rosen participated on the junior varsity lacrosse team and is cycling in the spring this year. Rosen lived in Mexico for a majority of his life before traveling to France for boarding school at SEK Les Alpes. He spent two years at SEK Les Alpes, for 7th and 8th grade before applying to Exeter for high school. 

Rosen was set on coming to Exeter since 8th grade when he found out about it. When Rosen was thinking about coming to boarding schools, he states, “I looked up best boarding schools in the United States, and the number one was Exeter on Niche, so I was like, ‘that’s where I’m gonna go.’” 

“At my old school, you didn’t really have to try…academics weren’t really a big part of my life. But by the time I was applying to Exeter, I realized that this was a big deal…Exeter is the most academically rigorous of all of them,” Rosen spoke of his time before coming to Exeter. 

When Rosen first arrived at Exeter in 2020, Covid 19 was still in full swing, affecting everybody on campus, and changing the Exeter experience that every student knew and loved when arriving on campus. Rosen’s thoughts on coming to Exeter for prep year were, “We had Covid, which was weird… It was kind of lame, cause we were taking classes from the dorm.” 

Of course, Covid 19 was a large issue, but it was not the only thing that made Rosen’s transition to Exeter a rough time for him. Coming to Exeter, Rosen at first felt out of place, and singled out, not finding many people he related to. “I was able to adjust and everything, but it was hard being one of the only Mexicans here” 

Although Rosen felt out of place at first, he later adds, “I was lucky because when I got to Exeter, my family knew another Mexican who was at Exeter, Jose Vivanco, and he was gonna kind of show me the ropes.” Rosen’s transition to Exonian life was difficult, yet through the help of other students on campus he was able to figure out that Exeter was the perfect place for him, and that he was right where he belonged.

Growing up, Rosen was exposed to many different aspects of life, his mother being Mexican and Christian, and his father being American and Jewish. “I think that made me think about things in a very different way…I like to think that I can connect with many different people from many different backgrounds…Only one person who does water polo does cycling, and no one who does wrestling also does cycling,” Rosen remarked. Because of Rosen’s diverse childhood, he is able to connect with lots of groups of people, making him a very easy and nice person to talk to. This paves the way for many friendships at Exeter for Rosen, as he can relate with all kinds of students on campus.

At Exeter, Rosen has been involved in many different sports, including lacrosse, water polo, and wrestling, and this year beginning his journey in cycling. Rosen has been competing in athletics since the beginning of his career at Exeter and has thrived greatly in both the wrestling team and water polo team, becoming a captain of both of those sports in his senior year. Contrary to what may be popular belief though, Rosen didn’t actually begin playing any of these sports before coming to Exeter, which collides with his huge success in these sports. Rosen comments, “I’ve never really been an athlete before coming to SEC, my boarding school …but SEC was a very fit school.”

Rosen remarks on one of his rougher memories from middle school, one that he remembers quite well though, because of the impact it had on his life, “My coach said, ‘okay, we are going to go for a hike today’ and I was like ‘Ugh, I’m not really in the mood for a hike, I don’t think I’ll do it’. That was my mentality. We started walking, it was a sunny day, and it was pretty steep… I wait until we get to the top and say ‘That was a fun little hike, but i think i’ll go back now,’ but my coach said, ‘what the hell do you think you’re doing?’”

Rosen speaks about finally finishing the hike and says, “That felt amazing, and that was kinda when I started getting involved in athletics, and it was really a profound change for me in general.” 

Individually at Exeter, Rosen has many different leadership positions here, some of them being captainship on the boys varsity wrestling team and captainship on the boys varsity water polo team. Rosen works very hard every day in these sports and loves each one of them for their own specific reasons.

Being a captain of varsity water polo gives Rosen a perspective on sports different from the one he can get from wrestling. On the topic of water polo, Rosen comments, “Water polo is, it’s like a team sport, so in that sense it’s a lot more collaborative and social.”

Having the role of captain on the boys varsity water polo team gave Rosen an opportunity to teach and educate younger players on the team more about water polo, and more tips and tricks he has to further the skills of the other players on the water polo team. Head coach Don Mills comments on Rosen’s progression in the sport, beginning it for the first time ever in prep year, and speaks about his favorite memory of Rosen in the sport, “Just how much he stepped up senior year as our starting goalie. Big impact and so impressed with his development.”

Mills also comments on one message he has for Rosen and states, “Absolutely loved coaching Rosen in water polo.  The type of athlete every coach would want to work with.”

On the wrestling side of things, Rosen states, “For wrestling, it’s such a hard sport that it brings everybody together.” 

Wrestling and water polo according to Rosen are two completely different games, and the perspective of both is what makes Rosen such a well rounded student at Exeter. 

As captain of the wrestling team, similar to water polo, Rosen teaches and helps newer wrestlers get the hang of the sport, and gives tips to grow the team, while also fostering a safe and fun environment for everybody. Towner Akers, member of the class of 2026 and fellow wrestler of Rosen speaks on what he wishes people knew about Rosen himself, and says, “I wish they knew about what he does for a team. I think whenever he’s on a team of people, they’re going to look up to him.”

To most people, Rosen is a leader, but also a good friend, and that is what many people value most about him at Exeter.

Although athletics at Exeter are a huge aspect of Rosen’s life, he is also involved in many clubs around campus that perfectly round his academic achievements throughout his time as a student at the academy. 

Rosen’s journey to becoming co-head of Afro-Latinx Exonian Society and La Alanzia Latina is an interesting one. As stated above, Rosen felt out of place at Exeter at first, not knowing many people who were from where he was (Mexico), and he felt like he didn’t belong in where he was. After adjusting to the Exeter experience, Rosen realized how he could use his experiences to help others adjust to Exeter, “That’s kinda what made me think a lot about race and ethnicity, and I wanted to make sure that I was providing a space for other people, and that’s when I really got involved in LAL and ALES, and, you know, those have been really meaningful clubs to me ever since”.

Rosen isn’t only co-head of ALES and LAL, but is also a director general of Phillips Exeter Academy’s model united nations club, which he has been a member of since his prep year (2020-2021). When asked about it, he says, “I kind of started it on a whim my prep year, because Phil Horrigan, ‘21, was a senior, he was a proctor, and he was like, ‘oh you should 100% do it’”

Rosen did end up joining, and he remarks on his memories from his first ever committee, “I was Soka in an avatar committee, like The Last Airbender, and I had never watched Avatar and didn’t know what it was. He was like, ‘Okay, to prepare you’re gonna have to watch all 3 or 4 seasons of it’ and so like in 2 weeks I binged the entire show… and I went to the committee and I loved it. It was so much fun.”

Although Rosen is a leader of many clubs on campus, he also acts as a proctor in Soule Hall on campus. He is a leader for many young students at Exeter and everybody in Soule Hall enjoys his presence as a proctor greatly. Logan Liu, Phillips Exeter class of 2027 student in Soule Hall states, “Rosen is a really thoughtful proctor. He has really helped me be successful as I have entered the school”.

Another person affiliated with Soule Hall is Sarah Herrick, Rosen’s advisor. Herrick comments, “Alex has boundless energy and he exudes positivity. He is resilient and leans into challenges. I admire Alex’s integrity and strong sense of self.”

Although Herrick is affiliated with Soule, she also acts as a mentor to Rosen, guiding him along his journey at Exeter, being his advisor at Exeter. Even though Rosen is a hard working athlete and club leader here at Exeter, he also is strong in the field of academics. On the grounds of Rosen’s academics, Herrick says, “Alex is an earnest student with a persistent drive for excellence. Alex’s teacher comments consistently reflect his intellectual curiosity, strong work ethic, and distinctive voice around the table. As one of his teachers commented last spring, ‘Alex is an absolute rockstar in the classroom!’” 

While Rosen thrives in athletics and extracurriculars, he also rocks in the classroom, bringing his eager and excited energy with him wherever he goes. Rosen’s excited, eager energy that he brings with him is also what makes him such a nice and caring person to be around. Ask any one of Rosen’s friends and the number one thing they will talk about is how nice of a person he is. Marek Jin, member of the class of 2026, comments on a message for Rosen, “Just keeping yourself don’t let anyone change that you’re one of the nicest people I know”

Rosen’s amazing personality is what drives so many of his friends closer to him, at Exeter. Another friend of Rosen’s, Akers, was asked how he would describe Rosen in one word and said, “Caring”

Another question asked of Akers was how Rosen inspired him, and he stated, “He does many things and he does them all well. He does a sport every term, he’s a great student, he’s a great leader, and he’s involved in multiple clubs too. He puts his all into everything he does and I think everyone can be inspired from that.”

Another close friend of Rosen, Anvi Bhate, ‘24, has been a friend of his since prep year. When Anvi first met Rosen, she was amazed at his welcoming and friendly personality. She comments on her first impression of him and says, “I specifically remember sitting on the quad in a big group of people, Alex was entertaining the crowd as he still does. The only thing I remember clearly is being in awe of how good he was at talking to people. You don’t see a lot of people with such a great balance of humor, intelligence, and understanding, all whilst not taking themselves too seriously—somehow, though, ever since I first met him at 14 years old, Alex has been very good at that.” When asked about how Rosen has changed over the years, Bhate states, “He’s grown into someone that I know underclassmen can depend on and look up to, and I think prep Alex would be proud of how far he’s come.” 

Each and every one of Rosen’s friends sees the profound impact Rosen has, and appreciate him every day for it.

Alex Rosen is a well-rounded, hard working, athletic, and nice student on campus. Nobody at Exeter can say one bad word about him because of the positivity he spreads everywhere, whether it be on the water polo team, the wrestling team, Model UN, La Alanzia Latina, Afro-Latinx Exonian Society, in Soule Hall, in the classroom, or just hanging out around campus. Just seeing Rosen around campus at any time of the day can put a smile or make someone laugh even just talking to him for 5 minutes. Alex Rosen is an exemplary student at Phillips Exeter, and any student would be happy to be considered his friend.