Junior Eli Gindraux transferred to La Salle his second semester of freshman year. He attended Sellwood Middle School as well as Benson High School prior to La Salle, and decided to transfer to La Salle because of the amount of opportunities the school provides and the friends he has here.
Gindraux explained that he didn’t have a hard transition from Benson High School to La Salle, but thought that the most difficult part of transferring was the shift in the amount of school work that he received. Coming to La Salle, Gindraux was worried about the fact that he didn’t really know many people besides the few friends he had.
“I think it’s definitely different because people kind of already decided who they are friends with and there’s more kind of set groups, so you kind of have to find where you fit in that,” he said.
Gindraux’s favorite class is U.S. History. His favorite topic he has learned about are the conflicts and history of the Middle East. “I just think it’s relevant and cool to learn about [its] history,” he said.
Gindraux’s favorite teacher is choir and guitar teacher Mr. Otto Wild, who taught his guitar classes his freshman and sophomore year. He has been playing guitar since he was in third grade and has been in Mr. Wild’s class for the past two years but is not taking it this year.
“I like playing guitar,” Gindraux said. “It’s like a creative outlet.”
Besides playing guitar, in his free time Gindraux enjoys hanging out with his friends, listening to music, and going to the gym. He goes to the gym four to five days a week and first started going three years ago when his friend invited him. “It’s a way to better yourself,” he said.
This past summer Gindraux and his friends went on a camping trip near a river, with his favorite part of the trip was floating down it. He also thought it was fun to set up their camp and hang out around the campfire.
He also enjoyed a trip he and his mom took to Europe during the summer. They spent a week visiting London and Greece. Gindraux’s favorite place he visited on the trip was Santorini, Greece. One of his favorite activities they did together while there was spending time on a boat where they swam in the water and had a view of the entire island.
“It’s super beautiful and just really different than the states,” Gindraux said.
In the future, Gindraux sees himself living outside of Oregon, in cities like San Diego, California or Austin, Texas. “I just like the culture and both places have pretty good weather and good vibes,” he said.
He describes his mom as his biggest role model. He explained that his mom teaches him that being nice to others gets you far in life. He also said that she influences him to be kind and understanding because she embodies those traits. “She’s just always there for me and trying to support our family,” Gindraux said.
Gindraux hopes to go to college to major in business, and plans to put his degree to use by establishing his own gym. “I just want to work for myself and be able to have something that’s my own,” he said.
