Caroline Beauchamp had to mourn her biggest dream. However, it allowed him to gain more freedom. In return, if his life has taken a new tangent, it is to be able to save that of others.
Beauchamp is no ordinary medical student. His parents are not from a medical background. She didn’t grow up imagining herself operating on patients. In reality, she landed in the middle a bit by chance.
“I applied to the University of Montreal in three things: medicine, pharmacy and architecture, but I didn’t know that I had to put in an order. So, I ended up in medicine, since it was at the top of the list. I’m happy to be in medicine, finally, because I like it, ”she says at the end of a neurology course, at the reception of the Faculty of Medicine at the Roger-Gaudry pavilion.
His life has always been centered around skiing. A sine qua non for being able to ski race? Do well also on the school benches. “For my mother, if things weren’t going well at school, I stopped skiing. »
Beauchamp has reached a critical point in her life. The one where she excels in two distinct areas. Where she is admired for her academic and athletic achievements. However, she refuses to take the lead.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CAROLINE BEAUCHAMP
Caroline Beauchamp
I’d rather have people congratulate me on my skiing than my studies in medicine. I am no more hot than everyone else because I study medicine.
Caroline Beauchamp
Step by step
Originally from Montreal, Beauchamp grew up on the slopes of the Owl’s Head ski club. She was then part of the Estrie regional team. She excelled there and earned a place on the Quebec team, the best in the province. One of the best affiliates of the Canadian national team.
Her best moments in career, she lived them within the provincial team. Leaving her to prioritize her studies was a great loss. It was the end of an adventure, but the beginning of the rest of his career. And his real life. However, the transition was not easy.
“It was a big down, because it was a bit of a challenge. A bit of an identity crisis. »
It was hard for her to come to terms with the idea that she would be a student first and an athlete second, because sport had always defined her.
When she got used to the idea, she saw clearly again.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CAROLINE BEAUCHAMP
Caroline Beauchamp
I rediscovered the love of skiing, because I no longer had any pressure on my shoulders. With the Quebec team, I felt like I just had to perform. Back at university, I also had other things in my life and skiing had become a way of clearing my mind.
Caroline Beauchamp
His arrival in the Quebec university network was sensational. She is only in her second year of eligibility and already she is the captain of the Carabins. In 11 competitions this season, she has been on the podium five times, three times on the top step.
Her outfit earned her the title of flag bearer for the Canadian delegation at the Winter Universiade in Lake Placid in January.
“At first, I thought I was just the standard bearer for the ski team,” she recalls. But when I found out it was for Canada, I was really proud and it kind of rewarded all the sacrifices I had made. »
This competition brings together the best university athletes from 43 nations and Beauchamp shone there in his blue uniform from head to toe. “I was talking about it with my parents and I’m almost more recognized since I’m a university athlete. It feels good,” she remarks.
Review your goals
Obviously, by leaving the Quebec team for the benefit of the university network, she gave up on her dream of one day skiing under the banner of the national team. “It was a little girl’s dream to do a World Cup, but let’s say that for the amount of training we have, I know it’s not possible. »
To achieve this, she would have to set aside her medical studies for several years, but making this sacrifice does not interest her.
It was a bereavement, because in life, when you start something, you finish it and there, it’s as if I hadn’t finished my project.
Caroline Beauchamp
Nevertheless, from the height of his 22 years, Beauchamp is already extremely lucid about his career, his experiences, his joys, his sorrows and his pitfalls. This maturity is perhaps her greatest quality, she admits.
His greatest pride, meanwhile, is to have found a balance. “It’s the hardest thing to do, but it’s important to set goals and stick to your plan,” she says.
His goal now is to have fun on the slopes. And that’s enough for him. “Perform too, because I’m very competitive, she adds, but otherwise, I’ve reached the stage of just having fun. »
After all, “life isn’t just skiing. There will be other things afterwards”.
And her life after, Beauchamp envisages it with excitement and feverishness, because she knows that she will succeed.