Rebecca Rider is a varsity athlete, an outstanding student, and is looking forward to furthering her goals in the state she knows and loves as home.

As a senior, Rebecca has come to appreciate her time at PIHS. “Presque Isle High School has much better opportunities than other schools around The County. Especially the PIRTC programs and the business classes. The classes are more challenging than other schools. The workload is more and the teachers are more strict, but it helps us prepare and get a sense for college.” 

Her friends can attest to Rebecca’s work ethic. “She stays up sometimes until, like, three doing her homework. So she always gets her homework done, even if it means getting an hour of sleep,” said classmate and friend Maggie Castonguay.

Rider says being a senior is the best and the worst year. 

“Everybody looks up to the seniors, it’s what typically happens. Being a senior is much better than being a freshman for the respect. It’s more bitter sweet, though, because of the emotional part of applying for college and leaving my friends.”

Her appreciation for rigorous work goes beyond the classroom. Rider participates in three varsity sports seasons: soccer, basketball and softball, and she understands her coaches’ high expectations. “I think we have a good coaching staff. For soccer, Coach Michaud is a good coach and he has been coaching for a long time, and Coach Hudson, he’s interesting, but he’s a good coach. He knows what he’s talking about.”

Rider has gratitude towards the work her  teammates do and the student fans who support them.

“We have good team spirit, and our student section is amazing. Everybody’s into it.”

Classmate and teammate Libby Moreau said, “She contributes to each team a tremendous amount. She’s a captain for all three sports teams she plays for and she definitely deserves to be.”

Being dedicated to sports and athletics means not much extra time in her days. “I go to practices, and then I go home and do my homework, I don’t really have a lot of free time.”

Rider loves sports and all of her teammates, but she knows that there is more to life than athletics and is looking forward to going to college in Maine and focusing on school.

Rider hopes to attend University of Maine with a full tuition scholarship. In college, she is thinking about majoring in nursing. She chose UMaine because she wants to stay close to home and close to her mom. Being able to travel back and forth from college to home is important to Rider.

Rebecca Rider exemplifies the Maine way, embracing hard work in all her activities, and having pride in her participation.