2026 Students of Distinction

Remi Higbee: Inspired to pursue a future helping others

Gig Harbor Now is posting profiles featuring the Students of Distinction being honored by the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation. Peers, teachers or parents nominate students, who must be a graduating senior at a Peninsula School District school. A panel of community leaders selects students to be honored in one of seven categories: academics; athletics; career and technical excellence; community service; music, arts and drama; overcoming adversity; and science and technology.

These students will be celebrated during a banquet from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at Ocean5, 5268 Pt. Fosdick Dr.

School: Peninsula High School

Category: Overcoming adversity

For Remi Higbee, strength has come through learning how to hold onto hope during seasons of instability, hardship, and uncertainty. Throughout high school, the Peninsula High School senior has carried significant family challenges while continuing to pursue academics, relationships, and a future centered around compassion and service to others.

Over the years, Remi faced a series of deeply difficult family circumstances that tested his emotional resilience and changed the way he viewed both life and responsibility. Yet even through those experiences, he remained focused on continuing forward, leaning heavily on his faith, close relationships, and the belief that hardship does not have to define a person’s future.

Remi Higbee

“What keeps me going is the love and grace I believe God gives us,” Remi says.

While balancing difficult circumstances at home, Remi maintained strong academic performance, challenged himself through advanced coursework, and began exploring interests in science and healthcare. Inspired in part by his younger sister’s battle with leukemia, he developed an interest in biochemistry and helping others through medical or service-oriented work.

“I realized I wanted to help people through difficult situations the way others helped my family,” he says.

Remi also credits much of his strength to the support of his fiancée, whose encouragement and stability helped him navigate some of the most difficult periods of his life.

Leadership, for Remi, is rooted in sacrifice and humility. “Leadership is about taking care of the people around you,” he says. “It’s not about power.”

That perspective shapes the kind of future he hopes to build — one centered around kindness, generosity, and creating safe spaces for others. Whether through his future career, his relationships, or simply the way he treats people day to day, Remi hopes to be remembered for compassion and service.

“I want people to feel cared for and welcomed,” he says.

Despite the adversity he has faced, Remi continues to move forward with empathy, faith, and a determination not to let hardship define the person he becomes.