Back in high school, Michael Goodgame’s friends had asked him to make a few cameos in a film they were making, and instead of just reading his assigned lines, he showed up to the shoots wearing crazy costumes, ready to recite any line thrown at him.
“He was the go-to guy to deliver absolutely absurd lines with a completely straight face,” said friend and Staples alumnus, Noah Weingart, now a Cornell junior. “The man did not crack a smile, while the rest of us were busting a gut off camera.”
Michael graduated from Staples High School in 2011 and went to Carleton College. He was a junior when he was killed in a car accident last Friday, February 28.
Aside from being a funny person and good friend, Michael was a good student and leader, involved in many extracurricular activities in Staples.
“He was an all-around good kid,” said math teacher and Student Assembly advisor Gertrude Denton.
Denton knew Michael from his participation in Student Assembly, which he was a part of his entire high school career. He was a very active member, Denton said, and eventually became president his senior year.
“He was a lot more low-key and subtle, but he very much knew how to motivate people, knew how to lead people, knew how to get things done,” said Denton.
While involved in Student Assembly, Denton said, Goodgame initiated an online question box for students to ask them questions. He additionally organized an effort to send care packages to service men and women, inspired by his brother, who was stationed in Afghanistan.
Michael was also on the swim team at Staples and pursued more extracurriculars at Carleton College, including the Ultimate Frisbee team and the school newspaper, according to recent news accounts. But most importantly, he was known as being a good friend and caring person.
“He was a very goofy and odd guy at his core but was very good at turning that weirdness into something anybody could understand or relate to,” said Weingart. “He could get along with just about anybody.”
In a letter informing the Staples Class of 2011 about Michael’s death, Principal Dodig remembered as well Andrew Accardi and Ali Mirza, two other boys who were a part of that class and who also have lost their lives in the last year.
Dodig wrote that he wanted to stress how important it is that students are kind and respectful, and all three of those students “made a difference at Staples, and their legacy is that it’s a nicer place than it was when they walked in the front door.”
Students and faculty alike said Michael will not only be remembered by his friends and family, but by many Staples students and staff members.
Weingart, remembering a time when Michael told him all about his goals and aspirations, said, “I explicitly remember thinking to myself that I should strive to be a bit more like Michael — more informed, smart, and happily productive.”
