Graduating from the Boston Latin School, 18 year old Callie Eastman is headed to Louisiana State University (LSU) to begin a new adventure. Any sprots team would be fortunate to have her in the stands as a loyal and enthusiastic fan, and she expects her new environment will offer that and more!
“I chose LSU in part because of the warmer weather (though it is actually hot,) but really because of the spirit. When I visited the campus, everyone wore school colors, and there was a positive spirit. I never really played sports, but I love everyone being together. It was what I liked most about Boston Latin School. It didn’t matter how good the team was, but going with my friends was awesome,” she said.
You may know Callie as the always polite barista at Deja Brew where she has worked for six years, or as working for the past three years in the pre-school at the South Boston Neighborhood House, or from her years at the Perry School or Boston Collegiate. She is competent, committed, and gracious, even with years punctuated by COVID and new challenges. She is also honest.
“At first, I hated the Boston Latin School. It was so competitive and in addition, during COVID we were on-line, back part-time and then a year of masks, which I found hard. My parents encouraged me to stay because of the education, and gradually I accepted it and got more used to it. Now I’m glad I didn’t leave, and I got to make friends from all over the city. I loved that,” she said.
She joined the Italian Club at Latin (“ because of my friend from the North End.”) And, it seems that meaningful connections underlie most of what Callie Eastman seeks and values.
“Even with online school from home, I spent a lot of time talking to my friends on the phone, and that was a bond that helped. When we could be together again, we already had kept the friendships, “ she said.
Generations of her family have lived in South Boston, and it is a place of security and familiarity.
“I like how connected it is here. There is a strong sense of community. I see it as positive that people want to live here. All my life I have seen about half the people who have always lived here, and new people moving in. I think it is good that people want to come.”
Callie describes herself as a city person, who credits the city with “my awareness of how things work.” She has enjoyed ski trips with her family, but also has her sights beyond, first in living in the south for college, and eventually traveling to other parts of the country and Europe.
“I have the usual concerns, but I have hope for the world because of how people can connect for the good in the world, not just here, ” she said.
Callie doesn’t have a particular dream but imagines it will come as her new experiences take shape. For now, she is thinking of health sciences as a focus but realizes that it may well change. “I know it will be something with people,” she said.
As she quietly but surely takes on the challenge of living away from home in an all-new state, she is grateful and ready.
“I appreciate the support of my parents and grandparents, and the friends I went to school with and what I have had here. I may be more homesick for my parents and home and sister than I think now, but I did want someplace new!”
Callie Eastman is bound to bring her work ethic, love of people and spirit of cooperation from South Boston to Louisiana!
Congratulations on your graduation, Callie!
(Contact Carol Masshardt at carolhardt@comcast.net with comments or if you know of a graduate to profile!)
