Drew Goydan: Daring to be Drew

Whether out on the field with the varsity lacrosse team, dominating in a Mock Trial tournament or volunteering for Relay for Life, senior Drew Goydan has an impressive presence on campus. Her admirable balance of leadership roles, schoolwork and athletics demonstrates her extensive reach across the many facets of life on campus.Goydan first heard about Exeter from her uncle who attended the school some years ago. Both of her sisters then attended Exeter, Hayley Goydan ‘10 and Claire Goydan ‘12 and, after learning about the campus life and community, Goydan decided to apply.“What was really important was the community I would be surrounded by. Harkness learning excited me and the amount of extracurricular opportunities amazed me, but the Exonians themselves brought me here. I wanted to be surrounded by people that didn’t necessarily have the same opinions as I did, but a common value of learning.”Although Goydan had heard about Exeter through her family members, as a new lower, boarding life was still challenging. However, it didn’t take long for Goydan to turn the challenge of living away from home into one of the most important facets of her life at Exeter.“I was really fortunate to be welcomed into a warm dorm like Langdell,” Goydan said. “The seniors each year always were there to help me with my physics homework or look over a history paper, and the dorm faculty of Langdell are also amazing—I love cracking jokes with Mr. Kim on Friday night or chatting with Ms. Burke on Tuesday.”Since her arrival, one of Goydan’s passions has been being part of the Mock Trial team; she noted that her interests naturally led her to become part of the club.“What brought me to mock trial was my interest in law and public speaking,” Goydan said. “I had participated in forensics competitions back at home, so I saw Mock Trial as a natural extension of that. What kept me going to the meetings, however, were the people I met there.”Through Mock Trial, Goydan built writing and leadership skills and is now one of the club’s co-heads. Upper Holly McAlpine, another member of Mock Trial, commended Goydan’s commitment to Mock Trial and natural leadership abilities.“As she is one of the co-heads of Mock Trial, I've always looked up to Drew as a role model and a leader,” MacAlpine said. “She commands the courtroom with that natural-born talent one could never hope to accomplish through practice.”Goydan works with children in any way she can, including in ESSO clubs such as Reading Buddies and Kids Create.  “Reading Buddies and Kids Create are very special to me because I love working with kids,” Goydan said. “It’s refreshing and rewarding to walk over to Lincoln Street School and work with the fourth graders there as they read.”Goydan has dedicated much of her time to community service within the last year and, with the help of senior Cornelia Smith, organized arguably the largest and most important ESSO event of the year, Relay for Life.“Running Relay for Life with Cornelia was certainly one of my biggest accomplishments here,” said Goydan.“I was so pleased about how Relay for Life brought the entire community together—we had over 35 teams and 200 students directly involved in those teams plus the committee plus the Luminaria service participants plus the attendees.”After working closely with Goydan, Smith complimented on her communication skills and work ethic. “No one could have put relay for life together so successfully without Drew. She's so organized and she has such a knack for communicating with people. She understands what needs to be done and gets it done.” Smith said. “She had so much energy even in the dead of winter that motivated me and our whole planning committee to keep pushing and striving for the best.”Senior Saisha Talwar, one of her Mock Trial co-heads and fellow ESSO board member, agreed with Smith, emphasizing Goydan’s responsible and reliable nature.“Whether it be working on the ESSO board or as a mock trial co-head, I know that if Drew says she will get something done, not only will that something be completed in an incredibly short amount of time, but she will find some way to go above and beyond in her work. Despite this amazing work ethic, Drew continues to remain humble and supportive of the people she works with.”Modern languages instructor Ellen Glassner said that it’s hard to find a student with the work-ethics and diligence like Goydan.“She’s very hard-working and thorough. She’s highly motivated to do well. She’s always looking to improve. And as a person, she’s always a lot of fun. She’s responsible, reliable and always great to talk to. Whatever she’s doing, she always has high energy. She brings a positive mindset to everything, and she works hard at everything,” Glassner said.After Exeter, Goydan hopes to continue with community service.“I’d like to organize an event that brings the community together for a cause like Relay for Life did. I just love the atmosphere created when the whole school’s together for a common cause.”In college, Goydan hopes to study public policy and, specifically, education reform.“I am the product of amazing teachers and great schools—both public and private. I think these resources should be accessible to everyone,” she said.“Down the line, I’d like to see myself making major changes in national education policy, changes that make the classroom experience better for both teachers and students.”