On Thursday, November 7, Mount Carmel showcased its Honors Program Preview Night, a night where staff and students are tasked with pulling in a portion of the next freshman class via convincing arguments as to why this school is the best choice to educate children.
Director of Enrollment Mr. Jeff Stur was the first to have this task of the night. “It is important to help kids create their own path to greatness,” he said.
President Brendan Conroy gave the parents a taste of what students do on a daily basis with a prayer that was written by former MC teacher Mr. Kevin Hansen, who tragically passed away at age thirty-four in 2015. In this prayer, he emphasized the importance of faith. “The foundation is faith,” said Mr. Conroy. “Everything we do starts with a prayer.”
The next half hour or so was spent “getting down to brass tacks,” as Mr. Conroy put it, singing the praises of advanced education and the graduating class of 2024. Headlined by the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, and the University of Notre Dame, Mr. Conroy presented the various prestigious colleges that last year’s seniors now attend.
Theology teacher Mr. Dominic Scheuring discussed the Honors Cohort, an extracurricular for the cream of the crop of students that focuses on introducing possible hobbies and career paths. “Most kids don’t even know what they want to do in life by junior year,” said Mr. Scheuring. “But after joining the Honors Cohort and seeing what life has to offer in a broader sense, guys get an inkling.”
Principal Scott Tabernacki spoke about the Incubator program, where students in the class are tasked with creating a real business and dealing with real money.
The guest speaker, MC Class of 2014 and Harvard alum Mr. Alberto Covarrubias, had a wonderful underdog story to tell.
Mr. Covarrubias grew up in the industrial southeast Chicago suburb of Calumet City. He planned to go to his neighborhood high school, Thornton Fractional North, but after a conversation with his barber he decided to go to MC. The commute, lack of friends there, and overall unfamiliarity were challenges for him, but his perseverance led him to great success. “MC is so much more than good academics,” he said. “They have great extracurriculars, and they will challenge you to be the best version of yourself. They teach you how to conduct yourself and how to communicate.”
Potential MC parents were given the opportunity to speak to some current honors students. One parent asked about the commute, since so many MC students travel various distances to get to school each day. “I look forward to the commute,” he said. “I get to go in the car and talk about anything that’s on my mind for forty minutes every day with my best friends. When this is over, I’m going to be excited for the drive back.”
Another notable question was about the workload and how students manage if they are taking all of these advanced classes and doing extracurriculars. “It was difficult,” senior Leonard Siegal said. “I failed [to manage time and priorities]. I failed a lot, but that’s the only way to learn. Trial and error.”
There is always an adjustment period when entering high school with an increased workload and packed schedule.
Senior student body president Christos Dimas chimed in as well. “Like Leonard said, the best way to learn time management skills is to jump right in and fail over and over again.”
One of the last questions from parents somewhat differed from the rest: “What made you want to come to MC?”
“It was this night that did it for me,” Dimas told the audience, referring to the Honors Program Preview. “I realized that I had the opportunity to step out of my shell and succeed.”
Overall, the student panel did a great job conveying their MC experiences to the parents.
“I’ve never been anywhere else that gave me this special feeling,” said Malloy. “Brotherhood, tradition, whatever you want to call it, but every day this place gives me a special feeling that you’re not going to find to the same degree anywhere else.”
