Not going to lie high school is the roughest thing to go through alone as a teenager. Your the little fish, again, in a big sea of sharks. You have to make big life choices; who to sit with at lunch, what to do on the weekends, who not to talk to, who to talk to, what sport to try out for, what school activities to participate in, etc. For every other high schooler these were major concerns but not for me! Want to know why? Well I was lucky enough to attend a small catholic school in Pittsfield Massachusetts called St. Joseph High School!

I know I sound cliché, who didn't love their high school? Well I don't think you understand the importance to this article you are reading. So please keep reading and hear me out!

I walked into this big scary building with my fellow classmates that had grown up with not knowing what I was going to get myself into. I expected the juniors and seniors to be mean. I expected my principal to be even worse and the academic director not to care. Well to my surprise I walked into the exact opposite! Now, I am not saying the first couple weeks were a breeze because they weren't. I accidentally walked into an upperclassman history class the very first day, just my luck, but things slowly started to turn around! I got involved in sports, musicals, fundraisers, choir, managing the lacrosse team. Our school wasn't huge but it was like a second home! The principal went out of her way to make sure that we felt welcomed! The academic director knew every single student by name and loved every single one of us like we were her own children! Every single student, faculty, and alumni was a part of a family!

Who could forget Mr. Whitney having his English class act out the classic Midsummer's Night Dream, ice skating at the Boys and Girls Club for P.E., learning Chemistry with Ms. Licht, and Ms. Zola letting us make our mark on the wall in Art class? All these faculty members and more challenged us to think for ourselves! They helped us grow! Yes, the faculty are amazing but so was the student body! No one would ever make anyone feel left out! If anyone messed with you and you needed help, or even needed someone to vent to, there was always someone there by your side!

Now with all this being said the current Crusaders are in trouble! After many years of funding and being open by The Diocese of Springfield, they just decided 2017 will be the last graduating class. The parents and current students of St. Joe have tried to contact the Bishop Rozanski to discuss alternatives to closing the school down, but instead received no answer to their call for help. Help me help them! Share this article to get his attention!

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Click the link and like the page to support the cause!!!!!