Cate Jesena '26 Recruiting Profile

From a young age, I have always had big dreams. I remember when I was little, wanting to be a professional tennis player. In a twist of fate, I fell in love with soccer. I had started soccer when I first changed schools, as a way to fit in with everyone else and to have fun. But the more I played, the more I truly fell in love with the game. Now my dream is to play soccer at a college that has strong academics. I want to pursue a career in medicine, eventually becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. I have always been interested in medicine, but as I watch both my grandparents suffer from heart failure, I find myself leaning towards cardiothoracic surgery more and more.  On the field, I try my best to be a positive and supportive teammate, leading and encouraging others and myself to victory. I remember before I stepped out for my first soccer game my dad told me, “Just talk. Communicate with the other girls and It’ll make the game easy.” Now, I direct and lead people on the field, and find talking is the key to a successful team. Outside of soccer, I am happily employed at Kumon Math and Reading Learning Center, where I have learned many useful skills in terms of time management, responsibility, and more. On top of this, I also volunteer at a center for brain injured adults, in which I lead brain stimulating activities, feed clients, take vitals, and more. I attend Notre Dame Preparatory, where I won the academic merit scholarship there, and must maintain at least 3.8 to keep this up.