It’s hard to recognize the great privilege we have as students of Loyola Academy. When we started as freshman months ago, or in some cases, years ago, little did we know of the experiences we would face here. Loyola has prepared me the same way it has prepared alumni, and how it is preparing you. Loyola Academy is far more than a college preparatory school. It is a community that fosters growth and has made me a not only a better student, but a better person.
Four years ago, I had little direction. I was an unmotivated student ,and I did not know who I was. Loyola Academy sought to change that. Loyola has surrounded me with students and teachers that are passionate for learning and improving the lives of students just like me.
I have nothing but praise for this community I was born into years ago. And now, I’ll be leaving this community.
It is a bittersweet moment, sure, but the memories I have made at Loyola Academy will stick with me forever.
I was expecting high school to be nothing special. I thought I was going to cruise by and quickly forget about those I met in high school. Loyola Academy has proven me wrong. My best friends in the whole world will graduate with me next week. And I have Loyola Academy to thank for that.
It is easy to get caught up in all of the negativity surrounding high school, and Loyola Academy is no stranger to this. But, if students do not pay attention to the good, four years can fly by and you ask “where did the time go?”
Find the things, the people, the classes, and the teachers that you love. Keep them close because they will form your high school career. Loyola Academy fills their classrooms with these people and encourages its students to, in the words of Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J. “Fall in love and stay in love, it will decide everything”