Carolina Romeo insists she is just your typical teenager.
But her friends, family and pretty much the rest of the country think she’s uniquely deserving of the Canada’s Top 20 Under 20 honours she received from Youth in Motion in Toronto this month.
At just 16, Romeo is already going into her second year of engineering at the University of Calgary, on the school’s women’s field hockey team and will be joining her teammates in Prague, Czech Republic for the Junior Ringette Championships in August.
Perhaps even more astounding is her contribution to the community by volunteering to coach young girls like herself, while juggling a workload of sports and schoolwork.
“I really want to be able to coach another team of girls this year, it’s definitely something I enjoy quite a bit,” she said. “I like to get involved in things I enjoy and then I just work really hard at them.”
This is, perhaps, why non-profit organization Youth in Motion recognized Romeo for her achievements.
“I was just so happy to meet the other 19 nominees and I was very inspired by them. Even though we have different interests, we all share the same drive,” Romeo said.
Romeo’s field hockey coach said she had to urge the young athlete to make a submission because Romeo “didn’t think she was qualified.”
“She is an exceptional young lady and I am not surprised. I think there is so much to her that makes her special,” Jenn Swagar said.
Romeo’s mom Martha agrees. “I am just so proud of her, but I think she is just doing what makes her happy.”
