The Boston Children’s Hospital profiled Caroline Laurendeau, a member of the College of the Holy Cross class of 2017 and the women’s rowing team. Laurendeau, the 4’11” coxswain for the Crusaders, was born with cerebral palsy, a disorder that hinders body movement.
The profile chronicles Laurendeau’s life from when she was born at 1 lb. 11 oz., to when she turned two, and started showing signs of cerebral palsy.
According to the article, despite her size and some minor motor challenges, she did her best to keep up with her athletic parents and older brother and sister. But what Dr. Jane Stewart, director of the Boston Children’s Infant Follow-up Program, remembers most is her giant sense of humor. “She was always a pistol. Even at two-and-a-half-years old, she’d have me in stitches with her jokes.”
Throughout her life she never slowed down. She learned to downhill ski at age six and started playing field hockey in middle school. “My parents encouraged me to try anything I wanted to,” said Laurendeau.
She played field hockey until her sophomore year of high school until she realized the toll it was taking on her body. “I wanted to find a sport where I could still be competitive but also reduce my risk of injury,” she said in the article. A field hockey teammate casually mentioned rowing to her. “’You’re small,’ she said. ‘You’d make a good coxswain.’ I tried it and fell in love with it.”
She was admitted to Holy Cross, following in the footsteps of her father (Jack, class of 1979), who played football at the College and her brother (Jack, class of 2011), who played baseball for the Crusaders. She also has a sister, Mallory, who graduated from Holy Cross in 2013.
“Rowing has taught me the importance of teamwork, and over time my team has become my family. There is a constant feeling of support that comes from this group of hardworking and dedicated rowers. As a result of constantly being around such hardworking, determined people, I have learned a sense of discipline as well as learning to hold myself to a high standard, which I hadn’t done in the past,” explained Laurendeau.
- Read the entire story on the Boston Children’s Hospital website
- Learn more about Laurendeau at GoHolyCross.com
This "Holy Cross in the News" item by Cristal Steuer.
