For Kevin Wu ‘25, it’s been four years of joy, experience and community.
June 20, 2025
Camila Capdevila ’25 reflects on her journey from first-generation student to All-American athlete at St. Paul’s School.
BY IAN ALDRICH
Camila Capdevila ’25 was always going to defy the odds.
Born to a teenage mother who had immigrated to the U.S. from Argentina only a few years before, Capdevila saw firsthand the obstacles and hardships her mom overcame to create a stable home life for the two of them. It was a model for her daughter to follow.
“Statistically, I was destined to be just another number, another story of failure,” Capdevila wrote in her personal statement for her college applications. “But rather than succumbing to the expectations this world had predetermined for me, a fire ignited within … I’m not a statistic — I’m an outlier. I redefine what is possible.”
The seeds for Capdevila’s future were planted early. When she was young, her mother worked as a cardiac tech at a hospital in the family’s Florida hometown. When her mother was called in for emergencies, and timing or money was tricky, Cami was often pulled into the rhythm of it all.
“My mom would get called in at random hours of the night,” says Capdevila. “We’d pack my school bag and I’d just wait out the hours however I could until school started. I understood fairly quickly that I needed to grow up fast and do everything I could to help my mom because of how much she was doing for me.”
That meant dreaming big and taking chances, which is exactly how she landed at SPS. Obsessed with history, Capdevila had researched the biographies of many of America’s Gilded Age business titans — Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan — and realized that all of them had strong connections with the most elite boarding schools in the country.
“I knew nothing about these places,” she says. “I Googled ‘Top Ten Best Boarding Schools in America’ and started applying. But I immediately fell in love with SPS and it became my top choice.”
In the fall of 2021, Capdevila arrived in Millville as a Third Former. In the years since, she says, the School has met her determination in ways that have shaped and refined how she thinks about her future.
“I had no idea that teachers could care so much about their students,” she says. “They truly are passionate about teaching us and ensuring our success in and beyond the classroom. Early on, I struggled with self-confidence. All my peers seemed elite or world-class at something, and I felt inadequate. But by being in this environment, surrounded by such incredible people, I was encouraged and supported by individuals who always showed up for me.”
[W]restling helped me feel empowered. Since I started in high school, I knew I wouldn’t be able to match the technique of someone who’s been doing this sport since middle school, but I’ll be the toughest opponent they’ve ever met.”
— Cami Capdevila ’25
The impact SPS has made on Capdevila has been mirrored by the marks she has left at the School. She’s thrived as a science student and anchored the soccer and track teams. In June, she will compete at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon in the javelin — an event she only took up last year.
But if there is an element of her SPS life that best encapsulates Capdevila’s drive, it’s wrestling. Introduced to the sport as a Fourth Former, Capdevila ascended quickly and in February finished as an All-American at the National Championships in the 152-pound division.
“The winters can get pretty gloomy and wrestling helped me feel empowered,” she says. “Since I started in high school, I knew I wouldn’t be able to match the technique of someone who’s been doing this sport since middle school, but I’ll be the toughest opponent they’ve ever met. That’s why I turned to strength and cardiovascular training, because running out of gas was not an option for me. We’re making it to the third period and when we do, and my opponent is exhausted, I’m going to take them down.”
As she’s honed her skills, she’s also worked to make it easier for other SPS female students to step onto the mat. Along with Madelyn “Maddie” Morse ’26 and Danielle Choi ’26, Capdevila founded Women of Wrestling, a club that introduces the sport to others and focuses on vital athletic aspects such as workout routines, nutrition and body health.
“It’s rewarding to build a supportive, collaborative environment where girls can feel comfortable and confident challenging stereotypes and asking tough questions,” she says. “That’s what the St. Paul’s community is all about.”
Paying it forward, in fact, is at the root of who Capdevila is. In the fall, she’ll enroll at Williams College, where she’ll take an important step toward realizing her dream of becoming a doctor. She looks back with fondness at the kindness she was shown by her mother’s colleagues all those years ago and wants to do the same.
“It’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl,” Capdevila says of her medical path. “So many doctors and nurses took me under their wings — it felt like the big family I never had. If I can find a way to do something like that for someone else, it would be my way of honoring the very people who first made me believe that I belonged in medicine.”
