When I first transferred to Mount Carmel, I was a little nervous about making friends and adjusting to the classes and everything else. But within the first week I knew I had found where I really belonged. The guys that I met here in the first couple of months cared about me and just liked me. The teachers made it easy to get caught up in classes that I have never taken. They also cared about more than just what they taught. They wanted to know how I was doing, if I making friends, if I needed to talk about anything with which they could help.

In all honesty, I thought I would just go through the motions of school for the rest of junior and senior year. But Mount Carmel challenges you to really care about everything you are doing: academically, athletically and spiritually. No one on this campus is going to take it easy on you, and I did very well because of the staff always pressing me to just be a better person, in every aspect of my life.

I learned more here in my two years than I ever would have at my old school. The experiences I had, whether in sports, Junior Impact Week, Kairos, or just my classes, shaped me into the man that I am right now. Mount Carmel has helped me define my values, strengthen my good traits, and work on the things that I have fallen short on.

So as I near the end of my time here, I think about all the lifelong friends I have made and the lessons I have learned. I’m grateful. I’m grateful to have gone to such a life-changing school, and my only hope is that other students will feel the same way when they are done with their time at Mount Carmel.