Thank you for teaching me the importance of being open to growth. You have taught me the necessary maturity to be able to take responsibility for my actions and for my own personal growth. You helped me grow as a person overall in ways that I didn’t notice until the very end of my time as a student. I grew from being a quiet, insecure girl, to an outgoing, confident young woman. I am no longer afraid to express my opinions, despite the possibility of backlash. I have grown in my morals and my openness to others. There are so many other ways that I have grown that I cannot express in words, but I feel it in my everyday life. I know that with the basis you have given me, I will continue to grow as a person each and every day, through every experience.

Thank you for teaching me the importance of being intellectually competent. One thing that I really liked about being in a Jesuit school is the fact that the actual Jesuits were created with the dedication to not only religion, but education. The importance of education was very evident through everything in the school, specifically the teachers. The teachers are not just there because it is a job, they’re there to create deeper connections to the students and to be able to share their passion in the specific subject they teach, and that passion makes learning more interesting and, in a way, fun. I have learned a vast amount of skills and topics that have helped me in college, more than I thought they would. Since you had such an emphasis on the importance of education, I have found appreciation for the idea of always growing intellectually, and I will carry that throughout my life.

Thank you for teaching me a deeper meaning of love. I have always been infatuated by the idea of love, in any form, ever since I was a little girl. I had a good concept of it before I attended Regis Jesuit, yet leaving it, I have a deeper understanding than I thought I would. In order to love others, you must first love yourself. I struggled with loving myself when I first entered freshman year, but leaving senior year I was filled with love not only for myself, but for everyone around. You have taught me to accept everyone for who they are, despite their flaws and their mistakes. You have taught me to accept everyone despite their differences from me. You have taught me to seek for deeper levels of relationships and to love those people with unconditional love. You have taught me that it is important to love each other because it makes the world a better, happier place.

Thank you for showing me love in my times of weakness. I did not have the best of times throughout my four years of high school. Freshman year was extremely lonely for me and I developed a major health issue as a result. Sophomore year was tough on me academically, and at one point socially when my whole friend group went separate ways. Junior year was the absolutely worst year of my life mentally, emotionally, and socially. Senior year was tough socially towards the end as well. In my junior year, my theology teachers and my counselor were there for me more than I realized at the time. They guided me and gave me hope and strength that I could get through the really bad times that were happening. I know at the time I was very rude and didn’t want the help you provided me, but looking back on it, I couldn’t have made it through that time without you and those resources. The same goes for senior year, I wouldn’t have been strong and made it through the last two weeks of school without the guidance of amazing counselors. Thank you for showing me love through these ways, but also through the little “hellos” in the halls from faculty and staff that barely knew me, the retreats I had to attend (even if I hated them at the time), and through so many more activities and interactions that I cannot list off completely.

Thank you for showing me the importance of service. I have been doing service since I was 13 years old, but I never understood how impactful it can be on not only those you are serving, but also yourself. I am grateful for the two weeks off from academics in junior and senior year you gave us in order to dedicate 40+ hours to doing service. My junior year I was placed at an Alzheimer’s home, which was challenging at times, but extremely rewarding in the end. Most residents there wouldn’t remember me when I would return the next day, but I still developed some deep relationships with them and helped them be a little less lonely. The most challenging times there were when residents would have breakdowns over not knowing where they were and wanted to be with their families. It was tough, but I learned a lot about the importance of patience and the value in all life—old or young. My senior year service project was extremely challenging for me because I was placed in a situation that I really did not want. I was placed in a kindergarten classroom, which was a problem for me because I’ve never liked little kids. I developed so much love for the kids and relationships with them that by the last day, I was crying when I had to leave. I learned patience that way as well and also found that a lot of young kids have it rough already and need extra help with understanding educational topics, even if its as simple as the alphabet. I also did a service learning class my senior year and got to volunteer for six weeks at Grandview HS’s ILC program and I learned a lot about the population in the ILC and I found a lot of respect and love for that population that I didn’t have before the experience.

Thank you for giving me a sisterhood. Though I hated retreats from the very first year, I realize now that each retreat developed the concept of the sisterhood in deeper ways. Specifically, thank you for the experience of Kairos. I had an extremely rough time on my Kairos – one of my friends died the first night of my Kairos – but looking back on it now, I wish I had been more present on the retreat and embraced the experience. It was truly magical, and that is when the sisterhood was really set in place for me. I understood why we were considering a sisterhood at Regis Jesuit. I was able to develop deeper relationships and understanding of my classmates—or really sisters—around me. I was unappreciative of it at the time, but now it is at the core of who I am. I am thankful for the constant love and support I got from the sisterhood, and especially the comfort that it provided me with. After we all had experienced Kairos and when my class became the seniors of the school, I really felt the strength of the sisterhood. Without the strength of the sisterhood, I honestly hated the school, but with that sisterhood finally set in stone, I loved the school. By the last day of senior year, I didn’t want to leave, and by graduation I was low-key crying on stage. I miss having those quick conversations in the halls, getting greeted by different girls throughout the moment I walked in and out of the school, and even times in between. I miss having those sisters to go to in tough and stressful times, or even in exciting and happy times. The sisterhood has really developed me into the person I am today and will forever be at the core of everything I do in my life as I continue my education and personal growth.

I may not walk the halls of Regis Jesuit anymore, but the impact is everlasting. I will always be a raider, I will always be a sister, and I will always be a woman with and for others. I am forever grateful that I got the once in a life time opportunity to attend and graduate from Regis Jesuit High School. Thank you, Regis, for everything you have done for me. You will forever have my heart.