Marie Bellevue walks the halls of Mission Hills dressed in black from head to toe with a cold expression and her earbuds in; friends of the iconic horseback-riding star know she is not one to share her emotions.

  “I’ve worked really hard to get where I am even though, sometimes, it doesn’t really look like I have. I don’t really show struggles that I’m facing unless it’s with close people. It’s important to realize not to judge people from their outside appearances or rumors because half of the time they aren’t true,” Bellevue said.

  A Berkeley native, Bellevue moved to sunny San Diego and has since felt as though she did not belong, especially during her freshman year at San Marcos High School.

  “I switched to Mission because San Marcos High just wasn’t a good fit for me. I still have struggles here, but it is definitely a more welcoming and inclusive environment,” Bellevue said.

  Finding her home at Mission Hills led the way to finding her passion of writing and her position as Entertainment Editor. But her career as a journalist goes beyond the local high school level; Bellevue is a Regional Editor for Saddle & Bridle, a horse magazine in which she covers local horse show competitions.  

  “We are like a little family. With high school there are so many changes and instability, but journalism was the one thing that was stable,” Bellevue said.

  It is no surprise that she is also a star in the classroom with a schedule full of AP classes and leadership roles as an AP Ambassador and a two-year member of Link Crew. Outside of the classroom she commits countless hours to training with her horses

  In the fall, Bellevue plans to return to her hometown, attend her dream school (UC Berkeley), and pursue a degree in media studies and possibly sociology.