Freshman, Bella LeRoux, has only attended Carmel Christian for a short time, but she has grown to love and appreciate her life here. Before coming to Carmel, LeRoux attended Charlotte Christian until 8th grade. Now in her freshman year of high school, she has had so many positive memories over these past two years at Carmel and cannot wait for what her future holds!

LeRoux has lived in Charlotte her entire life, only moving houses a couple of times. She grew up with two siblings: her younger sister Lauryn, who is in 4th grade at Carmel, and her older sister Sophia, who is a junior at Charlotte Christian. Being the middle child was an interesting experience for LeRoux, sometimes positive and sometimes negative.

She enjoyed growing up in a household with all girls. LeRoux reminisces fondly about her younger life in elementary school; however, her middle school years were difficult. When LeRoux finished her 7th grade year at Charlotte Christian, she decided to make a significant change to her life and start her journey at Carmel. She explains that “I came to Carmel because I wanted a complete fresh start. I wanted to make new friends, explore new curriculums and just have a wonderful high school experience.”

Throughout her time at Carmel, LeRoux has fallen in love with this place. Her joy and excitement radiate off of her. She states that the best part about attending Carmel is that “my grade is a lot more connected than I’ve ever seen in a school before. Everyone is super close with each other, rather than certain cliques and groups isolating themselves.” Not only does LeRoux love the social aspect of school, but she is also heavily involved in the sports community as well. She participates in swimming and cross country, both for the school teams. LeRoux also does competitive cheerleading outside of school at Cheer Athletics, but she thrives in her swimming and cross country.

LeRoux has a passion for physical activity and a healthy lifestyle, and this is clearly seen through her talent and commitment to multiple sports. Her favorite sport, by far, is cross country. Ironically, she has been participating in this sport for the shortest amount of time. She has been swimming ever since she can remember, doing cheerleading for 8 years and this year is her first year on the cross country team. She decided to begin running because her close

friend, Hannah Justice, was on the team and loved it. Justice convinced LeRoux to join to running sport. Her passion for swimming sprouted when her mother put her in swim classes. LeRoux did not enjoy swimming full-time but enjoyed the sport enough to participate on the school swim team. LeRoux’s cheerleading career began with her participation in gymnastics. She explains that “I did not like gymnastics because it felt like I was way too in the spotlight. I never like being the center of attention, and this sport is all about that. However, I did like the idea of the sport and cheerleading was a way for me to participate in a more team-based setting.”

Not only is LeRoux involved in a plethora of physical activities, but she also enjoys relaxing hobbies such as reading and drawing. She explains that “I only ever really draw when I have a lot of free time, but I find it so enjoyable and relaxing. I wish I would find time to do it, but I often find myself too busy to actually sit down and draw.” LeRoux does, however, read quite regularly. Her favorite author is James Patterson, who is commonly known for his murder mysteries. LeRoux is infatuated with mystery books and explains how Patterson is an incredible author and keeps her captivated and entertained.

In LeRoux’s future at Carmel, she is looking forward to new opportunities, new classes, continuing sports and growing her relationships with her friends. She states that “I am especially looking forward to taking forensics. I am so interested in forensic science and investigation, and I think that it will really help me figure out if that’s something I want to pursue as a career.”

LeRoux has been a blessing to the Carmel Christian family, and although she has only been attending the school for a short amount of time, her impact is evident. She is full of kindness, passion and talent that can be seen throughout her performance in sports, her commitment to her education and her love for the people around her.