After starting over, Shadle grad on track

Celine Pandurevic was shocked, she said, when her mother told her they’d be moving to America.

She’d be leaving her friends, her boyfriend at the time, her country, her language – leaving her life in Hanover, Germany, to start a new one in Spokane. Her mother had reconnected with an old friend, starting on Facebook, and he’d proposed.

“My mom said yes, and that’s why we’re here,” said Pandurevic, 18.

When she enrolled as a sophomore at Shadle Park High School in fall 2012, she faced a mountain of work, starting with learning English. Her school counselor, Kyle Bush, said one case manager figured Pandurevic would need at least an extra year to meet her English language development requirements along with the graduation requirements all students face. Yet she is on track to finish school with her class, with plans to enroll next fall at Spokane Falls Community College.

“Her drive, her perseverance, her resiliency – those are things that really stand out when I think of Celine,” Bush said.

Pandurevic said she knew she was a fast learner and hard worker.

“If I have a goal, I just want to get to that goal,” she said. “And my goal was to graduate from high school with everyone else.”

Testing upon her arrival found Pandurevic could speak enough English to enroll at Shadle. She said it took her four or five months to learn to speak the language fluently. It was an immersion situation: She could communicate with her new stepfather and stepbrother only in English. As she started to make friends, she spoke English with them.

But the transition was difficult – especially when it came to the vocabulary required to do high school-level work, Bush said.

“But that’s what was so impressive about Celine,” he said. “She continues to work hard, ask questions. She’s come in before school, after school, during lunch even, with teachers to learn the material, to learn the vocab, to make sure she’s understanding it right.”

Pandurevic has made connections and contributions in her new community. She played soccer at Shadle in her junior and senior years. This year she’s served as varsity wrestling manager, waking early to travel to tournaments on weekends.

“I like to help people, which means I like to support the team from our school,” she said. “I like to just be there for other people. I like listening.”

She’ll pursue her helping instinct in college. After SFCC, she aims to transfer to Eastern Washington University to major in psychology or counseling.

In the meantime, Pandurevic said she’s grateful to her teachers at Shadle for their extra help.

“They always were supportive and always told me that I can do it, that I’m a hard worker, they’re proud of me,” she said, “which gives me strength to keep working hard.”