There is no doubt that Meg Bespolka made the most of her short year and a half at St. Edward’s before graduating last Saturday. She is quite personable and proved to be adept at fitting in well across the board – whether it was as a student, an athlete or a friend.
This fall she will take those same qualities to Rollins College near Orlando. Some two years after her family moved from England to Vero Beach, Bespolka has come to appreciate what this area has to offer.
“I’m really excited to be going to Rollins College,” she told us. “I applied to a lot of schools and I thought about going back to England, but I decided to stay because I really like it here and this is where I want to continue my education.
“I will major in art history and maybe minor in French or psychology. And I’m actually going to be playing on the varsity lacrosse team. They have a really good Division ll team and I’m looking forward to playing at a high level in college.”
The lacrosse part is no surprise. Bespolka hit the field running when she arrived at St. Ed’s, and was a super-charged engine on offense for two seasons. She had 24 goals, 3 assists, 11 draw controls and 33 ground balls in 11 games as a senior.
“St. Edward’s has a really great lacrosse program,” Bespolka said. “I’ve met some of my best friends and had some of my best memories playing on this team. It has definitely been the highlight of my time here. The coaches and my teammates have been amazing.
“Everyone is welcome regardless of what level they played at before. It was a really nice mix and completely different coming from my last school (in England). That was a really serious team with a lot of girls who wanted to play in college.
“It was a little different feeling here. I had more of a leadership role and that was actually a nice change.”
Bespolka was born and raised near London and was an avid lacrosse and tennis player when she lived there. Those sports run concurrently in the spring at St. Ed’s, so she decided to focus on lacrosse. However, she realizes that lacrosse may dry up after college, with tennis eventually serving as the go-to recreational sport.
Her obvious athleticism resulted in an invitation to join the cross country team as a senior. That worked out pretty well when she emerged as one of the best runners on the girls team.
All of that aside, we should all consider something of much greater significance than the grades she worked hard for or the athletic success she achieved – something that can never be adequately measured: Were we as a community able to help Bespolka, her parents and siblings heal to some small extent in the aftermath of a horrible family tragedy?
Bespolka was part of a multiple birth, and her triplet brother Cameron died in an avalanche while her family was vacationing at an Austrian ski resort in December 2013. Cameron was 16 years old.
“We were going through a difficult time, so we decided that a change would be good for us,” Bespolka said. “It was difficult being back in our house because we had so many memories. We all wanted something new.
“We had been to Vero Beach because my grandmother lives here. We knew the area and thought that it would be a good move. Cameron loved it here. He was really into birds and nature (see cameronbespolka.com for information on the charitable trust set up in his name).
“I think everyone was excited, but there were some reservations because we were leaving behind family and friends. We really didn’t know anybody here, but it worked out for the best.”
The sadness for this grief-stricken family will linger forever, but we can only hope that the move to Vero Beach has helped in some small way.
Her brother Nick also graduated from St. Ed’s last Saturday and will attend the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Her sister Sienna will be a sophomore in the fall.
“Nick is going to be really far away and I’m going to miss not having him around,” Bespolka said. “He’s a funny guy who knows how to make everyone laugh. Sienna is going to find the house much quieter with the two of us gone, but it’s nice to know that she will come and visit me in college.”
Bespolka did an interior design internship just before graduation and will volunteer at St. Ed’s water camp for part of the summer. She would also like to get back to England to see family and friends before school starts.
She said, “I would just like to thank my parents (Kevin and Corinne) and the St. Edward’s community for everything they’ve done for me. The St. Edward’s community has just been amazing. I am really glad that we decided to come here.”