I have attended Catholic schools for basically my entire life-kindergarten through senior year-and I believe that it has been the right choice for me. I started my academic career at Holy Cross School, and St. Dom’s was simply the next step in my journey, the next platform in my progression. Thus, my decision to attend this school did not require hours of contemplation, but it simply involved a desire to continue my academic studies. Where I am a very driven person with a particular set of goals, I have found that St. Dom’s has helped me to realize these goals and provided me the tools to take advantage of some local (and not so local) resources.

I found the academics at St. Dom’s to be pretty challenging, especially at first. I enjoyed my classes, and found out that what I put in equaled and often amplified what I got out. My critical thinking, reading, and writing skills developed starting from day one, and I’m proud of where they are today. However, this learning not only takes place in the classroom, but in other school activities as well.

Freshman year, much to my complete astonishment, I decided to play soccer despite my lack of athleticism. It was a place outside my comfort zone, but it was also a place where I was able to meet a lot of guys from my class and work as a team with them. Math Team, Academic Advocate, and other activities also added to my St. Dom’s experience and helped me develop my interests.

After taking chemistry sophomore year at St. Dom’s, I discovered that I really enjoyed it, and decided to pursue it further. I found that the University of Southern Maine Lewiston/Auburn has a program through which local high school students can take college courses, and I signed up for Principles of Chemistry I and II. I had a solid base from sophomore year, and I was able to excel in that class.

My other academic passion besides science is French. It is a part of my heritage, and it is important to me to be able to speak it. I made it through French IV by the end of my junior year, and I was able to fund-raise a study trip abroad to Paris the summer after that school year. It was a great experience, and I decided I had to keep learning at that same intense level. Fortunately, Bates College has a similar program to that at USM, and I was able to take Advanced French Language there. I know that my strong base from St. Dom’s helped me to do well in that course.

Like every high school student, I have had my ups and downs these past four years. It has been a lot of work, but I can say with great confidence that it has been worth every second, and that St. Dom’s has helped a lot. I recently found out that I have been accepted to Williams College in Williamstown, MA as one of seven or eight Tyng Scholars*. Williams was one of my very top choices, and I couldn’t be happier to be going there next year. Although this year marks the end of my formal Catholic school education, my experience here has contributed much to who I am and to where I am going in life.

*What Michael did not say is that a Tyng Scholar is awarded beyond the undergraduate program with a scholarship for three years of post-graduate work. It is quite an honor, and we are so proud of his accomplishments.


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