CALGARY - At the age of 16, Carolina Romeo is already a star athlete at the University of Calgary and an award-winning student at the Schulich School of Engineering. Her latest achievement is being named one of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20. This annual list is compiled by Youth in Motion, a non-profit organization that recognizes Canadians under the age of 20 who have demonstrated a significant level of innovation, leadership and achievement.

Romeo has just returned from Youth in Motion’s leadership summit in Toronto. She received business training and career coaching, met with the executives of major companies, built houses with Habitat for Humanity and met David Onley, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Romeo says it was a life-changing experience that resulted in great friendships with the other 19 young achievers that included athletes, researchers, entrepreneurs and activists.

“Being around such amazing people from across the country was simply inspirational,” says Romeo. “The most important skill I learned was effective networking. It will definitely be beneficial in my future endeavours.”

Romeo is a defender on the University of Calgary Dinos women’s field hockey team and competes in ringette at the national level. She plays defense on the Canadian team that will compete this August in the 2009 World Junior Ringette Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.

Romeo has always excelled in sports and academics, and she skipped two grades in junior high school. In September 2008, Romeo won a Chancellor’s Club scholarship and entered the University of Calgary at the age of 15. She joined the women’s field hockey team, becoming the youngest ever athlete at the U of C and the youngest ever female varsity-level athlete in Canada.

During the 2008-09 season, Romeo became the youngest ever student athlete recognized as an Academic All-Canadian. This award from Canadian Interuniversity Sport goes to student athletes who maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 80 percent or better while competing on a university team.

“I learned a lot from the whole Top 20 Under 20 experience and it has inspired me to keep being involved in my community,” says Romeo. Her message to other young people: “Get involved through something you’re interested in, such as science or sports. If you have an idea, do something about it.”

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