WiNK

Keeping Up With...Max Thaler, '21

by: Evan Bourgeault

Max Thaler graduated from Wooster in 2021. As far as sports go, Max played hockey all four years of high school, and was a team captain his Senior year. He also decided to play lacrosse his Senior year, which ended up being one of the best decisions he made while at Wooster. As for clubs, Max was a Captain of Catwalk for a Cure Club from Sophomore to Senior year. Max was also a Student Ambassador starting his first year at Wooster in 7th grade all the way through graduating. He was the Student Activities Proctor Senior year. For extracurriculars, Max was in tech theater Freshman and Sophomore years, he wrote for WiNK all three trimesters Senior year, and sporadically throughout his first three years of high school. Now that we have gotten to know Max a little better, let's get into the interview...

What college are you going to?

I'm a Sophomore at the University of Maryland–College Park, and I just transferred here after spending my Freshman year at Emerson College in Boston.

What are you studying?

I'm majoring in Journalism with a concentration in Sports Journalism. I'm considering minoring in Business, but I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of making that happen.

Made any new friends?

Yes! Last year at Emerson I made a bunch of friends through my dorm building and the clubs I was a part of. I also became great friends with people at my job in Boston. Now that I am at UMD, I've begun making some new friends. I'm originally from Maryland, so I've reconnected with some people I was friends with when I lived down here. I've also become friends with people from both of my new jobs. I am still new here, so I'm trying to find more ways to branch out and meet more people.

When was the last time you visited Wooster?

Last year I visited Wooster a lot. I came back for homecoming, and I visited during my winter break and spring breaks. I ended school in April last year, so I also spent all of May coming to Wooster Lacrosse games. But, the last time I was on campus was for graduation in June.

Do you keep in touch with your graduating class?

Yes, from my graduating class I keep in touch with a handful of people. I'm still good friends with Lily Newman and Olivia Ambrosio, and Savanna Sikorski also goes to UMD, so we meet up about once a week. I also keep in touch with friends who are members of the Class of 2022, such as Justine Gray, Deanna Jones, Marcus Dupree and Trip Dulecki.

What is your favorite thing about college?

I love being at a big school like UMD, as there is so much diversity. There's 30,000+ people here, so there is every type of person you can imagine at this school. I also love the independence aspect of college. No offense to my mom (she probably doesn't read WiNK anyway), but I've enjoyed being able to live on my own and follow my own schedule. Finally, I've also enjoyed the clubs I've been a part of, both at UMD and Emerson, as they've been a great way to meet people and do things that I enjoy.

What is your least favorite thing about college?

My least favorite thing about college is probably not knowing most people in my classes. At Wooster, I liked that I at least knew everyone's name. Now at UMD, I have some classes that are lecture halls with 120 other people in them, so I only know maybe a name or two, or sometimes none at all. I do also have classes with about 30 people in them, but they're more lecture based, so there's not much of an opportunity to get to know my classmates. The same goes for my time at Emerson, where even though my classes were all 20-35 people, they were still not designed in a way for people to get to know one another.

Any new jobs?

Yes! Last year while in Boston, I worked at TD Garden, which is home of the Bruins and Celtics. I was a Guest Services Ambassador, which meant I helped operate the Guest Services department inside the arena during all events, including Bruins and Celtics games, concerts, and special events like the Frozen Four. I witnessed so many cool events and moments, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and seeing the Golden State Warriors win the NBA Finals.

Now in Maryland, I have two new jobs, both in pro sports. In August, I started as a Guest Services Ambassador for the Baltimore Ravens. So far, it's been a lot of fun, even if I'm only there around twice a month for home games. In September, I started a job with the Washington Capitals as a member of their game presentation crew. In this role, I'm in charge of picking fans to play in in-arena games, as well as operating those games (so if any of you reading this find yourself at a Caps game, let me know and I'll pick you to play in something). My favorite fan game is musical chairs which takes place on the ice during intermissions, so I get to be on the ice every game helping operate that which is super cool. My crew also has a locker room two doors down from the Caps locker room, and we're around the players all the time, which is pretty surreal for me as a life-long, die-hard Caps fan.

What has changed in your life since graduating and going to college?

A lot, but also not that much at the same time. I still balance having fun jobs and being a student, which is something I also did in high school. I was a Zamboni driver at the Danbury Ice Arena, which is where I practiced for the Wooster team. But, it's very different living in an apartment with no parental supervision. I have a lot more responsibilities living on my own.

Did Wooster set you up for college success?

Absolutely! Wooster taught me how to get involved with my community. As you can tell from the first question of this interview, I was very involved at Wooster. However some of that wasn't originally my choice, as Wooster kind of forced me into some of my extracurriculars. I joined Catwalk my freshman year because clubs were required, and being in Catwalk ended up being one of the highlights of my time at Wooster. The same goes for lacrosse. If sports weren't required, I wouldn't have joined my senior year and I would have missed out on such a fun experience. Now that I'm in college where these things aren't required, I feel much more inclined to join them, as I know they could have great benefits. Wooster taught me that trying new things and immersing myself into my community can have so many benefits to it– and trying new things is what college is all about.

What did you like about Wooster that you haven't found at college?

I know it's very cliché, and I'm sure 9 times out of 10 you're gonna get this answer from an alum, but the community. The Wooster community is something special, and I miss being able to know everyone. I also really miss having closer relationships with teachers, as in college, my professors barely even know my name.