Mason Seymour ’26: Grace Under Pressure
Life at Strake Jesuit is energetic and fast-paced, with the majority of our students maintaining serious athletic commitments alongside rigorous academic coursework. While some moments in coursework and our many sports seasons can feel a tad frenetic with all the buzz of games-plus-exams, one student stands out from the rest due to his extraordinary composure: Mason Seymour ’26. Both in the classroom, actively pushing his academic boundaries, and in the pool as a starting goalie on our Varsity Water Polo team, Mason is renowned as a refreshing counterpoint to the turbulence of the school day, bringing a spirit of peace and tranquility that improves the culture of his team and his classes.
Anyone you ask about Mason — fellow students, teachers, coaches — immediately offers the same assessment: calm, composed, unflinchingly level-headed in all contexts. His friend and fellow goalie Henry Meraz ’26 offers this representative judgment: “Mason is very calm, and he knows how not to get worked up about things. He stays focused.” I couldn’t agree more: having taught Mason in back-to-back English classes, I have never once found him to lose his cool or to get worked up, no matter the setbacks or challenges. Especially in AP Language last year, most of his classmates would be at least periodically rattled by the gauntlet of timed essays and tricky passages, but Mason forged on, tackling the AP exam and demonstrating the Grad at Grad’s tenet, intellectually competent.
But much more than merely a highly talented player, Mason is a model of moral leadership on the team, helping his teammates rather than competing with them. His demeanor during and after games is nothing short of countercultural in the sport. Henry shares, “Sometimes you see people calling people names and getting amped up for games, but Mason has never been that type of person. He never rubs it in for a team we’ve just beaten.” Rather, he is renowned on the team for his kindness and support: “I especially appreciate how excited he was when I did well in a game — double-high-fives, saying great blocks, hyping me up.” Coach Keogh echoes this ethic of support, adding, “Some goalies get worked up and yell at teammates when they make a mistake, but Mason has ample patience and does not overreact to setbacks.” He further highlights the remarkable team dynamic due to the sense of brotherhood between Mason and Henry, sharing that they would split time and that “never did I get a sense they were frustrated or jealous of each other.” Joseph Johnson ’26, team captain, notes Mason’s gravitas as a silent leader that everyone respects, adding that “everyone would listen whenever he talked.”
Excitingly, Mason has been invited to play with the Bahamian youth national team for a tournament, which will give him the opportunity to represent his family background and will take him to Colombia in April. Mason reflected, “I’m pretty excited about the new experience, but also nervous. I am extremely proud that my efforts have led to this, and am proud to play for my country.” If his track record at Strake Jesuit is any guide, I suspect that he has far stronger grounds to be excited rather than nervous, and that he will make both us and the Bahamas proud. In the pool and on dry ground, Mason is a living example of the Grad at Grad, and I am proud to count him as a future alumnus.
Anyone you ask about Mason — fellow students, teachers, coaches — immediately offers the same assessment: calm, composed, unflinchingly level-headed in all contexts. His friend and fellow goalie Henry Meraz ’26 offers this representative judgment: “Mason is very calm, and he knows how not to get worked up about things. He stays focused.” I couldn’t agree more: having taught Mason in back-to-back English classes, I have never once found him to lose his cool or to get worked up, no matter the setbacks or challenges. Especially in AP Language last year, most of his classmates would be at least periodically rattled by the gauntlet of timed essays and tricky passages, but Mason forged on, tackling the AP exam and demonstrating the Grad at Grad’s tenet, intellectually competent.
Ask coaches about Mason’s water polo skills, and the gushing is unstoppable. Head water polo coach Tim Keogh ’10 expresses this enthusiastically: “It was a total joy working with Mason these four years. He came in with no experience in water polo, but he was open to growth and very coachable.” Attempting any new sport freshman year takes bravery and exhibits the Grad at Grad’s tenets, open to growth, and Mason has this quality in droves, taking on the especially mentally challenging role of goalie. Assistant varsity water polo coach Patrick Growney puts it well: “A goalie has to be wired differently from other players to stand six feet from a volleyball-sized ball that can be traveling 40 miles per hour, often aimed right at your face.” Both coaches praise his strong field awareness and unflappable composure, calling him a staple of the varsity team since his junior year. Mason especially shone in this year’s regional final game, as Coach Keogh proudly shares: “He really rose to the occasion, making numerous clutch blocks facing off the
eventual state MVP.”
eventual state MVP.”
But much more than merely a highly talented player, Mason is a model of moral leadership on the team, helping his teammates rather than competing with them. His demeanor during and after games is nothing short of countercultural in the sport. Henry shares, “Sometimes you see people calling people names and getting amped up for games, but Mason has never been that type of person. He never rubs it in for a team we’ve just beaten.” Rather, he is renowned on the team for his kindness and support: “I especially appreciate how excited he was when I did well in a game — double-high-fives, saying great blocks, hyping me up.” Coach Keogh echoes this ethic of support, adding, “Some goalies get worked up and yell at teammates when they make a mistake, but Mason has ample patience and does not overreact to setbacks.” He further highlights the remarkable team dynamic due to the sense of brotherhood between Mason and Henry, sharing that they would split time and that “never did I get a sense they were frustrated or jealous of each other.” Joseph Johnson ’26, team captain, notes Mason’s gravitas as a silent leader that everyone respects, adding that “everyone would listen whenever he talked.”
Excitingly, Mason has been invited to play with the Bahamian youth national team for a tournament, which will give him the opportunity to represent his family background and will take him to Colombia in April. Mason reflected, “I’m pretty excited about the new experience, but also nervous. I am extremely proud that my efforts have led to this, and am proud to play for my country.” If his track record at Strake Jesuit is any guide, I suspect that he has far stronger grounds to be excited rather than nervous, and that he will make both us and the Bahamas proud. In the pool and on dry ground, Mason is a living example of the Grad at Grad, and I am proud to count him as a future alumnus.
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