By Dave Emke, demke@post-journal.com


MAYVILLE  Sao Paolo, Brazil, is one of the world’s largest cities, with a population rivaling that of New York.

Mayville is, it’s safe to say, nowhere near as large.

Michail Woods, the son of Daniel and Valerie Woods, has lived in Sao Paolo most of his life. His father heads a synagogue with Baptist Mid Missions, a non profit organization that aims to spread the word of the lord throughout the world.

He and his family landed in Mayville this year when they inherited a retirement home from Michail’s grandfather, who started the family’s work in Brazil in the 1950s, noting the number of Messianic Jews who had emigrated there after the Holocaust. Michail’s father was born in Brazil and his mother was a native.

Mayville has been an enjoyable place to be for the last year, Michail said, and he’s managed to keep himself as busy here as he had in Sao Paolo.

’’I’ll never look back and say ‘I wish I would have sat on the couch more and eaten potato chips,’’’ he said. ’’You pull some vampire schedules, but in the end it’s all worth it, it’s good to have goals and dreams and pursue them.’‘

Michail, 17, is the oldest of seven Woods children. He and his family have traveled throughout the region, and have even gone as far as California on occasion  throughout the year to report on their work at the various churches that support them.

Despite all the travel time, Michail maintained high honor roll status all year at Chautauqua Lake Central School, took three AP courses,  two of which he pursued on his own, outside his class schedule,  and kept up on a variety of other activities in the school and the Mayville area.

That’s not to say it wasn’t an adjustment for the young man, who just finished his junior year in high school.

’’I’ve had trouble getting used to the rural area, but I’ve come to love it,’’ he said. ’’I love the lake.’‘

Among his activities at CLCS are National Honor Society, the Peer Ed club, soccer and the swimming team,  the latter of which he helped lead to the sectional finals.

Michail attended an American school in Sao Paolo. He said the pace of education was more strenuous there, but he has been kept busy by his CLCS curriculum as well.

’’It was kind of a challenge to get here and balancing my schedule with the coursework here, the requirements to graduate there and here, and whatnot,’’ he said. ’’But basically everything has went really well.’‘

While he is in Mayville, Michail looks forward to taking part in Chautauqua Institution’s summer schedule. His academic accomplishments at Chautauqua Lake earned him a complimentary gate pass, and he is enrolled in a Web design class there. He said he is also looking forward to the lectures during the institution’s Ethics of Capitalism week.

Highly musical, Michail took up the trumpet this year and quickly ascended to third chair in the CLCS band. He is also an avid pianist, having studied in Brazil’s Tom Jobim Conservatory. Michail also is a guitarist, he was part of a Jewish music band in Brazil and may be playing on a float during Mayville’s upcoming July Fourth parade.

’’Basically what the band did was that we played at every service every weekend,’’ he said. ’’We spent about six hours together every week practicing,  I did that for about three years while I was down there.’‘

Government is a passion for Michail, and he hopes to attend college and pursue a career in the field. He attended summer courses in journalism at Harvard University last summer and would love to enroll in the prestigious school, but will not be disappointed if life takes him down a different path.

’’I have some lofty goals, but it’s not going to be the end of the world if I don’t (go to Harvard),’’ he said. ’’I just want to make the most of the opportunities I have.’‘

As for future goals, Michail says he hopes to use his international background to his advantage.

’’I love traveling, so I was thinking maybe my ultimate goal would be to be an ambassador,’’ he said.

Not stopping there, Michail said there are no limits to what his career could be.

’’Who knows, maybe some day down the road I could be president,’’ he said.

Michail, who speaks Portuguese and Hebrew as well as some Korean, is unsure where he will be for his senior year. His family has planned to return to Sao Paolo, but monetary concerns have arisen. If he stays in Mayville and becomes a Chautauqua Lake graduate, though, that would be just fine with him.

’’I have only good things to say about this school,’’ he said. ’’They welcomed me so much. It’s one of the greatest schools around here, I would say. ... I don’t think I could have asked for better. It’s a great time and a great area.’‘