By Melissa Moore-Randall
Revere native Aylah Cioffi has come a long way since she began playing hockey at the age of three.
“I have been skating since I was 3 years old and playing hockey since I was 5 years old. I come from a big hockey family. My father Gerard Cioffi Sr. was the one that had me start in hockey as he is a hockey coach and formerly coached for Everett/ Revere Youth Hockey. He taught me everything I know to say the least. My brother Gerard Cioffi Jr. played hockey for Revere High School and graduated in 2003. At. Revere High School he tallied over 100 points in just two seasons on the team.”
“My most memorable hockey experience is skating for the first time at the Allied Veterans Rink in Everett. My father took me to go skating for the first time ever. I had the whole rink to myself and I first began in tears, too afraid to go on the ice and begging my father to not let me go. Eventually I was handed a skating crate to use and never looked back. That day started my love for hockey. I skated by myself for 3 hours and did not want to leave the rink.”
The daughter of Gerard Cioffi Sr. and Erika Dominguez, Aylah attended the George Keverian School in Everett for elementary school. She eventually went on to attend St. Mary’s in Lynn for middle school.
Hockey continued to allow unique opportunities for Aylah when she attended high school at Kent School in Connecticut on a scholarship. Kent School is an independent college preparatory boarding school serving grades 9-12.
“I was very fortunate to say I had the unique opportunity to attend a boarding prep school like Kent School. My highschool experience at Kent School was amazing. I grew not only as a student in the classroom and as an athlete on the ice, but I made friends for life from all around the world, had an amazing support system from faculty, and grew as a person. I was heavily involved in the community, as a tour guide on campus, new student orientation leader, member of Varsity Field hockey and Varsity Ice hockey, captain of ice hockey my senior year, and Senior Prefect on Senior Council my senior year.”
Aylah is currently a freshman at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York where she is on an academic and athletic scholarship. “College life has been nothing but exciting and filled with amazing opportunities and great memories so far. Playing hockey at the Division 1 level is truly a privilege and a dream come true for me. I am currently in the Lally School of Business at RPI studying in Business Management.”
When asked what advice she had for the young skaters of today, Aylah added, “To kids that may be reading this, be the best version of yourself every single day. Dream big because anything is possible with hard work, determination, and patience. Always be a leader not a follower.”
