Ding! The warning bell rings as she walks into a school four times bigger than anything she has ever known. She gets lost on her way to the first period, but soon she will find where she belongs.
Senior Celeste Bourque moved here from Canada last year and has learned how to cope with every problem she has faced and excel while doing it. After her freshman year, she suffered a severe shoulder injury which almost ended her swimming career and lose the thing she loves most.
“[Swimming] was like my best friend,” Celeste said. “When I was upset, I would go to practice and swim. It was something I could rely on.”
The ligaments in her shoulder had stretched to a point where they could not be returned back to their full abilities.
“Since I moved so often when I was a kid, I never had that childhood best friend, so swimming was where I went for anything,” Celeste said.
Moving for the seventh time for her father’s career at ExxonMobil, she wasn’t surprised that they were moving again. Though, when she found out that her new home would be America, that came with quite a shock.
“I was struggling a lot, and I was planning on moving schools anyway,” Celeste said. “Since there were only 30 kids in my grade, it was hard to find my people.”
Though she was lost in the hallways, she knew where she belonged the second she stepped into her Sports Medicine class.
“I showed up to four of my classes late because I had no idea where I was,” Celeste said. “But slowly after that I found the training program,”
Despite her fears, once she settled in, friendships started forming.
“I love how outgoing she is,” senior Jade Brantner said. “She’s always so fun and exciting and she’s always happy”
Celeste is determined to pave her way into the medical field to help many more athletes and patients than she already has.
“I did an internship over the summer at a physical therapy clinic,” Celeste said. “That helped me learn a lot about rehab and what to do for kids after their injury.”
Using her experiences in high school, Celeste plans to study physical therapy when she goes to college. Though she will likely be moving back to Canada for her further education, she will never forget the experiences she has had in America.
“[High School in America] is like being in a movie,” Celeste said. “It’s like you’re living your high school dream.”
