Anabelle is nearing the end of her 13th year at Keystone, a journey that began in Kindergarten and has made her a proud lifer. Former Co-President of the World Language Club (for which she co-lead the club for three years), Co-Editor in Chief of the Literary Magazine, and Former Secretary of the National Honor Society are just some of the titles Anabelle holds as a representation of her contribution to Keystone’s student body. She has also founded a Friends of CAMP Keystone Chapter and has served as both a representative and secretary for the Student Council.
In reference to the student body, one of Anabelle’s favorite aspects of Keystone is the community and how special it is for people to be welcomed and accepted as they are here. The senior grade’s community has stuck with her in particular, as it is the small experiences we share that are just as prevalent as the big moments to her. Anabelle feels that the seniors have grown into what she considers a family, and she holds close all the memories with this grade over the years. How can you ever really forget spending an entire week together without showering in New México, as she put it, or “dancing the night away” at school dances, or even the lunch potlucks that quickly became commonplace among us all?
New México might be a “close” second, but Anabelle’s favorite Outdoor Education trip was the seniors’ trip to Yosemite this past November. She mentioned how, since it was our second time traveling there since sophomore year, she was able to reflect on our growth as a class and as individual people, as well as how much closer the grade has gotten with each other. During our campfire, there was further expression of similar sentiments and how grateful we are for each other and the support we give to and experience from one another. She fondly remembers Yosemite’s lighthearted moments, too, like staying up late in our cabins, playing with the snow and building a snowman, and, of course, losing a part of our grade on a hike through the woods at night.
Besides the Keystone trips, Anabelle has also dedicated herself to academics at the school. She highlighted her Stonecatcher project, titled “Combating Stigmatization Against Individuals with Disabilities,” as her biggest academic accomplishment. The project was intended to combat societal injustice in some way, and since many of her friends are a part of this stigmatized community, she talked about how those relationships have pushed her to advocate for those who are overlooked. Through her project, she met many incredible people and became involved with multiple organizations that formed an indelible part of her life.
In the same vein, her biggest accomplishment outside of academics is her work with Camp CAMP, where she volunteers with friends and families of individuals with disabilities. Anabelle puts herself wholeheartedly into her work and her passions. She has put much effort and heart into her four years at CAMP, and she reflected on how much she grows as a person and how much she learns from her experiences each week she volunteers. She emphasized how much gratitude she has for such experiences, and it’s apparent how much it means to her in the way that she talks about CAMP. Anabelle described how amazing it is to be able to meet such wonderful people each time she goes to CAMP, friends who have defined her definition of love. The love, joy, and gratitude she feels there is present in the friends with wheelchairs who dance through the night, the friends with trachs who go swimming, and, as she puts it, individuals “who are so often out of the conversation” finding “a place in the discussion” through CAMP’s efforts and community. She feels that CAMP has made her into a better person and has built her into who she is today.
Outside of CAMP, Anabelle also volunteers with an organization called Kinetic Kids, where she provides hands-on assistance for kids with disabilities who are learning to swim and where she just celebrated a (one year!) anniversary of volunteering. She mentioned how valuable it is to watch her friends discover their independence and the amazing things they are capable of, especially in a society where they are often placed into a box of what they “can” and “can’t” do.
When asked what the biggest life lesson she has learned so far was, Anabelle said, “We are all mosaics of every person we’ve ever loved.” A testament to how our relationships with others shape us and make us grow, it’s a lesson I’m sure she will take with her wherever she goes. Anabelle plans on double majoring in psychology and rehabilitation sciences with guaranteed admission for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at the University of Pittsburgh! She will form an irreplaceable part of Pittsburgh’s and every community she becomes a part of. Good luck!
