CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Carrabassett Valley Academy seniors Renee Thibodeau and Krista Hoisington discovered the school in distinctly different ways.

“I was looking for a private school, a way to expand my horizons,” said Thibodeau, who is the valedictorian of the class of 2003. She added that after hearing about the accomplishments of CVA graduates such as Kirsten Clark and Bode Miller, she was tempted to discover just what the CVA experience would do for her.

For Hoisington, the salutatorian of the class of 2003, attending CVA was something that always seemed to be her destiny. “I moved here when I was three,” she said. “My dad started working at Sugarloaf, and I always knew I was going to come here.”

Both admitted that attending the school has allowed them to grow in leaps and bounds athletically, academically and personally. “It’s made me hugely more independent,” said Thibodeau. “My time management skills are much better. It’s like going to college four years early.”

“It gave me a lot more independence than I would have had at a public school,” said Hoisington. “It gave me the opportunity to travel out west and also overseas.”

The school has a reputation for having some of the most skilled and experienced ski coaches in the country. That skill and experience helps their students become students of the sport, said Thibodeau.

“I didn’t really know the concept of ski racing before I came here,” she said. “The coaches here are great because they’re really concerned about you. They watch what you’re doing, such as making sure that you eat the right things. They’re like your parents.”

Hoisington added, “They make sure you’re focused on what you’re doing.”

“They stress commitment a lot,” said Thibodeau.

Both students will now embark on a whole new chapter in their lives. Thibodeau will be working at a lab on Mount Desert Island this summer and will be attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., in the fall. She will continue to ski and play soccer, and will study microbiology.

Hoisington said that she would be working and living with a friend during the summer and would be attending Clarkson College in upstate New York this fall. “I think I’m going to study physical therapy,” she said.

Both Hoisington and Thibodeau credited their parents for helping them become successful students, athletes and citizens. “My parents are hugely supportive,” said Thibodeau. “I owe to them the great time I’ve had here.”

“My parents do everything they can to support me and encourage me to do what I want to do,” said Hoisington.

CVA will hold its graduation this year on Saturday, June 7.