I remember how I felt walking into Assumption the first time for my shadow visit. Students lined the staircase welcoming me into their home. This feeling of sisterhood and acceptance came over me, a feeling that has grown stronger as a senior. Beginning that day and through my four years at Assumption, the values of faith, compassion, integrity, and excellence were instilled in me.
Going into freshman year, I was nervous. I worried about making friends and fitting into a new environment. Thankfully, I met great classmates whom I would soon call my sisters. In my first year, the community of Assumption taught me to be real and accepted me for who I was. I was brought out of my comfort zone through activities that included playing on the freshman basketball team and auditioning for the chamber choir. I learned that I was enough and my integrity mattered. I found my true self, and I was proud to be her.
Sophomore year introduced more opportunities for community service. Through sophomore retreat and the ACTS service program, I was pushed even further out of my comfort zone. I was encouraged to take the lessons I had learned freshman year outside of Assumption’s walls. Muhammad Ali said it best: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” My ACTS experience working with Alzheimer’s patients inspired me to pursue music therapy in college. I realized by sharing compassion, I have the ability to inspire others to do the same.
My first year as an upperclasswoman taught me about leadership. I earned the position of homeroom mom for a small group of freshmen. I began this role hoping to help a homeroom of freshmen smoothly transition into their first semester of high school.
I ended it with 28 “children” who still call me Mom. I was able to share with these girls all that I had learned so they would be prepared to embrace their own unique Assumption experience. My excellence empowered them. I learned that I loved leading others and lending advice.
The leadership experience I had during my junior year will always stay with me and will continue to guide me as a leader beyond Assumption.
The faith I’ve received through my experiences at Assumption has guided me to be the woman I am today and has especially guided me through the past several weeks. If there is one thing I have learned as a senior, it is to treasure each moment. No one knows what is going to happen, so it is important to live for right now. Go to every event you can — the state game, the musical, the dance — and make the most out of your years at Assumption because they truly fly by.
This year I have grown closer with my sisters, teachers, and administrators. Though the class of 2020’s time at AHS was cut short, I would not be who I am without the people within this school who shaped me. I will always know I am a valuable person, I have dignity and worth, what I do makes a difference, and I will always have a home at 2170 Tyler Lane.