CLIFTON — In May of her freshman year, Clifton High School senior Elise Burnett injured her knee while playing in a soccer tournament with her club team. When an MRI revealed that she had torn her ACL, the dedicated student-athlete had to come to grips with the fact that she would be sidelined from her favorite sport for at least nine months.

Little did Burnett know, however, that the setback would help shape her plans for college and a potential career in physical therapy.

The November Student of the Month lives in the Maple Valley section of Clifton with her mother, Annette Burnett, and her stepfather, Dave Lisowski. Her older sister Yvonne is a sophomore at The University of Rhode Island.

Elise attended St. Philip the Apostle School through eighth grade before enrolling at Clifton High School.

She started playing soccer with the Clifton Stallions recreation league when she was just four years old. By the time she was in third grade, she was playing on the Stallion’s travel team.

She has been a starter on the varsity soccer team at CHS since her freshman year, and she plays year round with a club team out of Westfield.

"I just love the game," she said. "It let’s me be creative and express myself. It’s what I do."

Following her knee injury in 2006, Burnett underwent surgery and spent the next six months in rehab. While having to sit out her sophomore season of soccer was tough, the experience of working with a dedicated physical therapist was truly inspiring she said. "It made me realize that this was something that I could do. I want to help people and change lives."

Burnett also learned to swim as a young child, an accomplishment for which she gives credit to her father. "He’s a scuba diver, so he got me involved in swimming at an early age," she said. "I’ve been swimming since before I can remember."

From third through eighth grade, she swam competitively with the Seahawks, a team based at the Clifton Boys & Girls Club.

Burnett gave up swimming with her club team after eighth grade to focus more attention on soccer, but she continued to compete as a member of the high school team.

In fact, she said that swimming helped her immensely while rehabbing her knee. "It’s one of the best exercises you can do."

A four-year honor student, Burnett’s class schedule this year includes advanced placement courses in biology, calculus and Italian. She is ranked in the top five percent of her class.

Last year, she was among four CHS juniors chosen to receive a Rotary Youth Leadership Award, which entitled her to attend a weeklong student leadership conference at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

Outside of school, Burnette works part-time as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at the Boys & Girls Club.

She said her busy year-round schedule of school, sports and work keeps her focused. "It helps me manage my time so I don’t procrastinate."

She is hoping to continue her soccer career in college. She recently visited and met with the coach at the University of Bridgeport. She also has applied for admission to the University of Rhode Island, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Drexel University, Richard Stockton State College, Bloomsburg University, Mercy College and Springfield College, all of which have programs in physical therapy.

"My priority in picking a college will be academics," said Burnett, who would like to open her own private practice in physical therapy some day.