Celeste Pegues, Junior at Thomas Jefferson, plays not one, not two, but three sports, and maintains good grades while being the self-proclaimed class clown.
Photo by Mia Nogueira
Growing up, Celeste was always involved in some kind of sport. It started off with gymnastics when she was five, but branched off into new sports. When she reached high school, Celeste joined the girls’ volleyball team for two years; but then she lost interest in the sport and longed to try something new. In her sophomore year she was left without a sport so she gave gymnastics a second chance. “Gymnastics was cool because I could see how I improved throughout the season. I used to not be flexible at all, and by the end, I could really see a change. By the end of the season I was able to place 4th on the beam, which is my favorite event,” says Celeste.
However, Celeste was more interested in playing tennis. Celeste has played tennis since 8th grade, and always wanted to join the team at TJ. The opportunity arose to join the team and she has kept with it ever since. “I like tennis because it just comes naturally to me. I was already good at it, and I really have fun doing it. The team also makes it a good sport because we all connect really well and I liked that. I can’t wait for this season,” said Celeste.
Not only does Celeste enjoy the people on the tennis team, but they enjoy her company as well. “I can’t wait for Pegues to be back on the team this year. She is a good player to have on the team because she is very competitive,” said the TJ Tennis Coach, Officer Tim Cueva.
Celeste grew up in a family full of talent and determination to excel. Celeste has a sister, Kendall, who is now 14 and attends The Denver School of Arts. “My sister and I get along pretty well; we have our ups and downs, but we are still really close,” said Celeste. Her parents have always encouraged her to participate in school activities. “When I stopped volleyball, my mom thought I should do something else because she wanted me to get involved and do some school activity,” she said. Celeste doesn’t only focus on staying busy at school, she also helps out and volunteers at her church. “Every Sunday I help out the Sunday School at my church. I just love little kids. In the future if I end up doing something involving children, it would have to be with little ones,” Celeste says.
Sports aren’t the only thing that Celeste strives to be good at; school is also a major concern, even though she said she can be a bit of a class clown. When she was in elementary school, Celeste was a student at Knight Academy. When remembering her elementary days, being the class clown comes to mind. “I was always the class clown in school. In 5th grade, I was always doing things to make people laugh and I made my teacher really mad when I messed with her lottery ticket. I didn’t know what it was and I thought it was a valentine’s card. I was really bored so I took it and scratched it off, she wasn’t very happy,” says Celeste with a giggle.
Older and wiser now, Celeste is in her hectic junior year but she still enjoys coming to TJ. “I’m really glad that I came to TJ, because I almost went to George. I heard about the Computer Magnet program here, and that’s when I decided that I wanted to be a part of TJ,” said Celeste, who is enrolled in the Computer Magnet, and her class of choice is photojournalism. “I like this class because I like the freedom of being able to walk around and just take pictures of TJ and my life,” said Celeste.
Celeste may enjoy photojournalism, but the class she looks forward to the most is Chemistry. “Chemistry would have to be my favorite class, even though it is the most challenging. I think the part I like most about the class is Ms. Colbath; she is very committed to her job and helping us understand what she is teaching,” said Celeste.
Celeste works hard, and her teachers can always tell. “Oh my, she is extremely nice, and she always has a positive outlook during class. I must say, it is a joy to have her in my class!” said AP Language teacher, Jeffrey Almond.
Celeste is always looking ahead and has already started to plan her future. Even though she doesn’t have a clear idea of what she wants to do for a profession, she has many ideas. “Right now I’m thinking of doing something with human development, but that could always change. I’m not too sure where I could go with that, but when I looked it up on some college websites, it looked interesting. I want to go to Metro, or the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), or Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins. I want to be able to have a job where I can help people, because that’s what I enjoy doing,” says Celeste.
