Arlington's Max Garrity-Janger Taking Life Lessons To Harvard

ARLINGTON, MA — Max Garrity-Janger's path from high school to college consists of a straight line less than four miles down Massachusetts Avenue from Arlington High School to Harvard University. Yet, in many ways, the roots of that journey were planted in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Garrity-Janger grew up and returns each summer.

Garrity-Janger said he used his experiences in Michigan, where his mother, Cecily, still lives, as the basis of his college-application essay. He said much of his personal development took place in Michigan. One of those experiences last summer, he said, was especially important to building his belief in himself as he prepares to head to the Ivy League.

While in Michigan to attend a hockey camp, Garrity-Janger also began tutoring college students in calculus and trigonometry at Eastern Michigan University.

"I hope I put on a confident face and didn’t look like a high school kid going into my senior year," he said. "That wound up being an internal struggle for me. People are always judging their teachers: Does this person have the chops to be showing me what to do? I feel like if you go into something like that confidently — even if you don’t know something right away you can look it up and be able to help — then everybody is more open to you."

Garrity-Janger returned to Arlington in the fall and applied early action to Harvard. He said he was accepted on Dec. 15 and never applied to another school. He went on to play for the Spy Ponders hockey team that qualified for the Super 8 tournament for the second time in three years. He was awarded the school's prestigious Ida Robbins Scholarship to conclude his senior year with his father, AHS principal Matthew Janger, presenting him with the honor.

Garrity-Janger said he was pleasantly surprised that he was accepted early to Harvard given that many of his classmates who applied were later accepted in general application or deferred. He said he was happy that the process wrapped up early before conflicting with hockey season.

"That was my main extracurricular activity," he said. "During hockey, life revolved around that. You always knew that you had to be ready to pick up everything and go to practice when it was time to practice."

Arlington won a game in this year's Super 8 before losing back-to-back contests against BC High and Xaverian.

"We felt like we could have won it — or at least gotten in the top three, four — but we ended up fifth," he said. "That was a tough end to my high school career."

Yet, Garrity-Janger said he has learned that through endings are borne new beginnings and through overcoming challenges comes perspective and opportunities. He said he tried to used that knowledge to grow both at Arlington High and in Michigan.

"Ann Arbor played a really important role in my life," he said. "It helped shape me as a person and as a student."