WOODBURY — After attending nine different schools in nine years, Nonnewaug freshman Gemma Hedrei is still looking for a place that feels like home. 

“I haven’t liked a lot of places that I’ve lived or the people I have been around,” says Hedrei, “but I think that without these experiences I wouldn’t be the person that I am today.” 

Hedrei has lived in California, New Jersey, Colorado, and Connecticut. Having moved so much, she has learned to get close – but not too close – to people.

“Moving has taught me to never get too attached to people and how to make friends easier and how to adapt to different kinds of people,” says Hedrei.

One thing Hedrei has grown attached to is basketball, because it is something that Hedrei has always been able to rely on.

As a freshman starter on Nonnewaug’s girls basketball varsity team Hedrei has been the leading scorer for the chiefs this season. 

“I like how fast pace it is and how there is always something going on,” says Hedrei. “I love shooting and the team aspect of it and the communication.” 

When Hedrei lived in New Jersey, she played on AAU team IYB. This team had a huge impact on her because it’s where she found a best friend and coach Kent Culuko who were always there to support her. 

“My coach helped me a lot with things going on at home, and I met my best friend there,” says Hedrei. “I spent pretty much all the time with my team and it became really close.”

Hedrei moved to Woodbury in November 2023. This move was one of her harder moves.

“We didn’t have a couch, but we had a Christmas tree,” says Hedrei. “I was sleeping on an air mattress.”

But when transitions were difficult she started with a good experience at Woodbury Middle School.  

“I like how everyone has their own group at Nonnewaug [and the middle school] of people that they like can count on and be around and that everyone kind of fits in with different people,” says Hedrei. 

“From a social aspect of having to make new friends transitioning into Woodbury Middle School,” says Nonnewaug science teacher Joshua Kornblut. “She seemed to get in with a really great group of peers and I think that’s really helped her thrive.”

Hedrei is a friend to many at Nonnewaug, but one friend that she has grown close with is Maci Johnson. Johnson and Hedrei have been friends since February 2024. 

“I just felt a spark so I started talking to her more,” says Johnson. “She’s always there for me and she always cares about how someone feels.”  

Hedrei has been to many different places and her living in all these places has made her discover different people.

If Hedrei hadn’t been through all of these life experiences she wouldn’t be the person she is today. 

“The different people I’ve become friends with and like every place that I’ve been there’s a different variety of people,” says Hedrei. “I like how everyone thinks and likes and gives me the opportunity to like and realize that everyone’s different and their own way and to kind of like roll with it.”