Flathead senior 'leads with grace and kindness'

Flathead High School senior Chloe Nadeau is someone who “leads with grace and kindness,” according to Flathead teacher and National Honor Society adviser Melanie Dardis.

Dardis nominated Nadeau, who was named the Today’s Achievers, Tomorrow’s Leaders honoree for November.

Dardis noted in her nomination application that Nadeau exemplified the award criteria through her scholarship, service and leadership as co-president of National Honor Society, soccer team captain and volunteer for Bigfork ACES after-school program and Abbie Shelter, which serves victims of domestic or sexual abuse.

“Chloe is a member of the National Honor Society and in order to be inducted she had to pass a rigorous test of scholarship, honor, leadership and service. She shows this by the way she operates in the classroom and on the soccer field,” Dardis said in her nomination letter. “I had the privilege of having her as a student. She always does her assignments above the level of expectation, helps others, turns her work in early when school sponsored for sports, and is kind to students who are not at her same level.

“On the soccer field she does not flaunt the rules and get penalties, but plays a clean game where she beats out the other player with skill, not dirty play. Her soccer commitment, role in NHS and volunteerism have not distracted her achievement of excellence, she is a 4.0 student.”

The Today’s Achievers, Tomorrow’s Leaders program recognizes the academic achievement and community involvement of a high school students who contribute to improving the lives of others. The award is sponsored by Kalispell Regional Healthcare in collaboration with the Daily Inter Lake. In addition to the recognition, honorees choose a school club or activity to receive a $250 donation. She plans to donate the money to the National Honor Society.

“I think it’s a really good program in terms of giving back to your community,” Nadeau said about National Honor Society.

Through National Honor Society she learned how to go about volunteering in the community.

“I learned about volunteering and how fulfilling and beneficial it can be to people,” Nadeau said.

As a volunteer for Bigfork ACES and Abbie Shelter, Nadeau has worked with children with a variety of backgrounds and discovered a passion for working with children.

“Both of these roles require integrity, compassion and excellence as well as an individual that is non-judgmental,” her mother Christa noted in her nomination letter for her daughter.

Nadeau has volunteered for ACES since sophomore year and said she is typically assigned to tutor a child over a couple of weeks and get to know them. She also helped direct various activities.

Nadeau began volunteering for the shelter in the summer and goes in once a week to supervise children and organize activities.

“I really love working with children,” Nadeau said. “I really like seeing them grow. Especially at the Abbie Shelter, since I’ve been there over the past four months, I get to see kids advance, get older, and I get to help them along the way.”

Being an athlete has taught her perseverance, determination and strength.

Nadeau has played soccer since she was 5. She competes on the Flathead’s varsity team as well as local and state club soccer teams. After tearing her right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) early on in her high school soccer career, Nadeau made it a goal to return to the playing field in better shape than before.

“It definitely was a challenge for me to get back. I was in unfamiliar territory. I had to work up to it,” she said, which meant hours in the gym, but resulted in being able to compete.

Fate had it in store, however, that she tore her left ACL this June and she missed an entire season. That was hard on her, both mind and spirit, not being able to compete in the sport she loves.

“That’s my biggest challenge more recently,” she said, noting that she’s signed with Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada, to play soccer on a scholarship.

“I’m planning to go to school there next fall and playing soccer for them, which I’m really excited about,” she said.

In deciding what to major in, Nadeau said she is still deciding. She was headed toward nursing, but after joining DECA this year, she is also pondering international business. DECA is a career and technical student organization.

“I’m on the fence right now,” she said.

Academically, Nadeau has maintained a 4.0 GPA all four years and takes International Baccalaureate classes, which she said have taught her to schedule her time better and provided the academic challenge she was looking for in her education.

“As far as grades, my family always expected a lot, but for me, I want to do the best that I can. They expect me to get decent and good grades, but I push it further to get the best grades I can,” Nadeau said.

And pushing herself farther than the expectations appears to sum up how she pursues all areas of her life.

The next deadline cycle to nominate a high school student is Dec. 27. Nominate a student at krh.org/TomorrowsLeaders.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.