Rotary Club Senior Spotlight: Pioneer Academy’s Claire Callister

Pioneer High School’s Senior Spotlight Claire Callister embodies the meaning of a welcoming personality. Described by her teachers, Callister is bubbly, sparkling, energetic and always welcoming others with a smile. Often asked to show new students around the campus, she has a personality to make people feel at home and welcome.

Transferring to Pioneer midway through her junior year helped reshape her goals and gave her a new perspective and direction for her future. Surrounded by a culture of being accepted for who she is, Callister has thrived and found new success, improving academically and embracing a personality of joy and gratitude.

Callister has viewed her high school experience like a coming-of-age movie with scenes full of drama, relationship ups and downs, successes and failures, but changing the setting to Pioneer helped to focus her direction. Realizing she was trying to be someone she wasn’t, Callister used the opportunity to be herself and found her self-worth and began to feel confident in who she is and where she is headed.

After transferring, Callister was appreciative of the positive teaching environment at Pioneer and how the teachers show they care for her and help her achieve her goals. 

“Mrs. Tarado (Science and Leadership teacher) is an amazing woman who never fails to make me feel heard, seen and cared for. She embraces all the parts of myself that make me unique. I honestly have no idea where I would be if I didn't make the change. I went from failing classes and never showing up to school, to graduating early, and it's all thanks to them. The teachers at Pioneer have made me feel special, like I could be a part of something larger than myself. They changed my perspective of what success is and what it looks like.”

With this new perspective, Callister has challenged herself with goals she didn’t think were possible and is motivated by a new mantra: If you want to play hard, you are going to have to work even harder.

Callister says she plans to continue to enjoy the opportunity to rock climb, go to the gym with friends, ski and hike while she completes her senior requirements by the end of first semester. Callister then has been accepted to start college this spring at the University of Nevada, Reno to earn a degree in nutrition and eventually work toward a master’s degree.