Passion drives Elise Pariseau to succeed in school and out

Senior+Elise+Pariseau+poses+as+talent+for+junior+Emma+Bishoffs+photography.

IMAGE / Junior Emma Bishoff

Senior Elise Pariseau poses as talent for junior Emma Bishoff’s photography.

IMAGE / Bailee Stevens
Senior Elise Pariseau (left) stands with her twin sister, senior Lauren Pariseau, at a student council conference in Grand Rapids last year.

Senior Elise Pariseau has been actively involved in all four of her high school years, aiming to make each year better than the last.

Pariseau is easily recognized for her extremely curly hair, bubbly personality, and her passion for helping others to make a difference.

One of her biggest priorities in life is to be kind to others.

“Being nice and courteous to others has always meant something to me,” Pariseau said. “I have been taught from a young age that you have to treat others how you want to be treated.”

Pariseau has been a positive role model to the Class of 2018 since her freshman year.

Pariseau was class president for the first three years and chose to challenge herself and run for Student Council president her senior year.

Pariseau’s twin sister, Lauren, believes that her sister has changed due to her involvement in Student Council.

“She (Elise) has become more assertive and more mature in a sense,” Lauren said. “It is cliché to say it made her more of a leader, but it truly has.”

Being a part of Student Council encourages students to step outside their comfort zones and help get classmates more involved. They work to get all of the student body to work as a team to make the school a better place to attend.

Student Council plans the homecoming dances, pep assemblies, and helps unite the school.

At first, Pariseau was unaware that if she ran for class president that it included being in Student Council as well.

IMAGE / Mr. Micheal Whalen
SOURCE / Mr Micheal Whalen
Members of Kearsley Student Council gather for a picture at their first Metro League Meeting of the year.

But Pariseau eventually grew a passion for being a leader.

“I ran for class president with high hopes to become a better leader,” Pariseau said. “I was unaware that Student Council came with the position, but after a short amount of time being involved in the group, I found a strong dedication in leading.”

Mr. Mike Whalen,  Student Council adviser and economics teacher, views Pariseau as one of the strongest leaders at Kearsley.

“I believe that Student Council has positively impacted Elise and helped hone her skills as one of Kearsley’s highest achieving leaders,” Whalen said. “I think she has become a more self-reflective individual in her interactions with her peers. She is always eager and willing to extend a helping hand the school community.”

Pariseau has also been an active member in the Kearsley golf program for four years.

Pariseau started playing first spot on junior varsity during her freshman year and worked her way to the sixth spot on varsity.

She started golfing for fun and then realized it was something she wanted to do more often.

“I went golfing with my mom at her golfing league one night and I out drove her and the other women there,” Pariseau said. “So my mom signed me up for a golf camp, and I have loved the sport ever since.”

Throughout her golf career at Kearsley, Pariseau has received many awards due to her stellar performance. These awards aren’t handed out to every player. They must be earned, and the player must be recognized by both their coach and coaches from other schools.

IMAGE / Coach Andy Nester
Senior Elise Pariseau follows through with her swing.

“I received second team All-Conference my sophomore and senior year,” Pariseau said. “My junior year I made first team All-Conference.”

If she’s not planning events with Student Council or golfing, often times you can find Pariseau studying and working hard to keep her grades up, as this is one of her important priorities in life.

Pariseau’s boyfriend, junior Landon Kash, is proud of how hard of a worker she is.

“I know she has worked hard to get to where she is at,” Kash said. “Elise is the type of person who doesn’t cut corners to get to the finish line.”

From a young age, Pariseau was taught by her parents how important it was to keep her grades up. To this day, this has been a priority in her life. Pariseau has learned that keeping high grades plays a part in determining her future.

“My parents have always encouraged me to do my best,” Pariseau said. “So I’ve made it a huge priority to keep my grades up.”

Pariseau’s friends also think highly of her and believe her high achievements don’t go unnoticed.

Senior Bailee Stevens has been best friends with Pariseau for five years and is thankful for their friendship.

“Elise and I met in the eighth grade. We played softball together, but we only talked here and there,” Stevens said. “Once we started high school, she challenged me for class president and it angered me. But as we started freshman year, we became close friends our freshmen year, and Elise became a part of me and I wouldn’t change our friendship for the world.”

IMAGE / Stephanie Lane
Senior Elise Pariseau studies for her statistics course online.

As their friendship has progressed, Stevens is happy she has been able to watch Pariseau grow into the person she is today. Stevens knows their friendship is going to last a lifetime.

“I have never been more proud of her and all of her accomplishments, not only going from class president to Council president but in golf and powerlifting also,” Stevens said. “Elise is a hard worker and I know it’ll pay off in her future.

“Elise has a bright future ahead of her, and I cannot wait to see how successful she becomes. Even though I won’t be right by her side, I will be cheering her on from 2,000 miles away.”