Alumni Profile: Author and Playwright Liz Maccie - Newark Academy

Green Mountains; and for the five years
that I knew Pavlo, he was enamored by
mountains. He wrote about mountains in
English, he begged his parents to take him
on hikes whenever they had free time, and
he always dreamed of one day climbing
Mount Everest. In fact, the last words of
his final essay at Newark Academy, he
wrote, “Go outside!”
Flying home from his funeral, I realized why Pavlo loved to
be outside, specifically among the mountaintops. He was a
young man with lofty values. He loved to summit and see.
When he was on the top of a mountain he could survey the
world. From up there the petty problems of daily life, the
seemingly unsolvable cultural conflicts, and all of the pain
and suffering of the world were washed away with whipping
winds, blended by a heightened view. For Pavlo, all things
tied tightly together on the top of a mountain.
At Newark Academy Pavlo Levkiv built a mountain. He quietly
demanded that we all look deep within ourselves in search for
personal meaning and intrinsic rewards. Those in attendance at
his funeral will recollect a first hand account of the power of
Pavlo. We were left torn by the tragic death of a beloved boy,
but we were comforted by the strength and support of a school
community. We were brought closer together by his life and
death. Now, in the aftermath, we move from mourning the
loss of Pavlo to celebrating his life. He once wrote in my class,
“death is a part of real life,” and albeit too brief, we are thankful
for his adoration of discomfort, his incessant smile, and humble
happiness. He has brought a school 235 years old one step
closer toward enlightenment.
A memorial fund has been established at Newark Academy to
honor and celebrate the remarkable life of Pavlo Levkiv. Please
send your memorial contribution to Newark Academy, Office of
Institutional Advancement, or call (973) 992-7000, ext. 320,
for further details.