As he prepares to head to Philadelphia this fall to attend West Chester University, Nathan Noel said he’s ready for all the new experiences that living up north will entail.
But as he noted, one of those checkpoints arrived a bit early – and very unexpectedly.
“I thought my first snow day would be at West Chester,” said Noel, who will attend the school on a swimming scholarship after a standout prep career in the pool. “But no, all of a sudden in January, here it was. Some friends with the swim team up there messaged me that same thing, I thought your first snow day would be here. Me too! I’m looking forward to more of them, though.”
Noel starred as a swimmer at Destrehan, finishing as a state runner-up in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke. He finished as the Metro champion in each of those two events and helped lead the school’s Metro team to a 7th place finish. He also was a key member of the 200 free relay team that won the Metro championship.
He followed in his older brother’s footsteps – he was a swimmer as well – to begin his journey in the pool at the age of 6.
“I would go to watch him practice. I started myself, but I didn’t stick with it at first,” Noel said.
But by the age of 9, he was back in the pool and started swimming competitively year-round.
“After the pandemic, I started to kind of excel,” Noel said. “And it was kind of a wake-up call that this was something I could possibly pursue at the collegiate level and work to be really good at.”
He accomplished that, and then some. Noel is a nationally ranked swimmer and will continue doing what he loves at West Chester.
A big part of that success, he said, is that he’s learned to love the process of it all.
“I enjoy the concept of exercise and putting your all toward something every single day. It makes you feel fulfillment about your daily life,” Noel said. “And the end product, once you go compete and you realize all of your work was worth it in the end.”
Relays were among his favorite high school memories – competing alongside his teammates and pushing one another to greater and greater success. He added swimming is a sport that teaches you patience.
“Every day won’t be your best,” Noel said. “It’s really a sport that’s about the long run. But it’s a testament to what daily commitment can look like.”
Beyond athletics, Noel has demonstrated considerable talent in the arts.
On the theatre stage, he began acting in St. John Parish, where he and his family lived until his 6th grade year. He moved on to Harry Hurst, where he starred in a lead role as Charlie Bucket in the school’s stage production of Willy Wonka, then played the titular character of Wonka as a 7th grader.
The COVID pandemic led to inactivity there and ultimately he departed the stage briefly until his former director at Hurst, Cristina Rivas, moved on to Destrehan to direct the high school’s theatre program.
“She talked to me and got me back into it,” Noel said.
He was quickly reminded of his love for the stage again. He portrayed Harry Bright in the spring musical of Mamma Mia, then took on what he called his toughest role, the lead character Orpheus in the musical Hadestown.
As someone who had primarily portrayed characters in comedic roles, Noel said this was a true challenge.
“I trained my voice for about a year for that role,” Noel said. “When I listened to the music for it, I knew it would be very difficult to sing for Orpheus. The process was almost daily, I trained and warmed up my voice in ways I had never done before.”
By the time rehearsals began, his voice was ready. But that was only part of the battle here.
“I hadn’t played such a vulnerable character before,” he said. “I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – it was very difficult and a lot of pressure, but it taught me so much about how to perform.”
Noel added his time in the Destrehan choir was a significant part of his life.
“It showed me what true friendships look like,” Noel said. “I struggled in my freshman and sophomore years to find those friendships, but when I got more involved with the choir as a sophomore it meant so much. Choir culture taught me so much more than notes and rhythm, it’s what it means to really excel with people.”
He was stellar academically as well, a member of the 30+ score club on the ACT and a Scholastic All-American who maintained a 4.4 weighted GPA.
At West Chester, he will study media culture with an eye on becoming a sports commentator or analyst.
“I feel I have a gift for public speaking and communication, and I enjoy doing that as well,” Noel said. “It’s very scary to go that far away for school, but I’m thankful to be able to learn from a new group of people in a different part of the country.”
