“...For we’re proud to sing of good old student days, and cheer the green and gold!” It is now four years post high school graduation, and it is still safe to say that I owe everything that I am to Allentown Central Catholic High School. If you’re like me, you were in a hurry to surpass the teenage phase and grow up, but ironically you dreaded going to high school, you whined at the thought of meeting new people, you ultimately dreaded taking the next step. Catholic schools run from K-eighth grade meaning that by the time high school rolls around everyone knows everyone from school dances or local parishes. If you went to one Catholic grade school, you knew people from the all of the other local Catholic grade schools. I, however, did not have that privilege as I attended public school my entire life and decided in eighth grade, only after hearing about Central Catholic once before and seeing it on the corner of Fourth and Chew near the heart of Allentown, that is where I wanted to spend my high school years.

While attending, something special I recall about the school musicals each year is it was not just your average singers and dancers playing characters in musical theater, it was people from all walks of life, from people who were athletes while taking a roll in the musical to people who have never been on stage in their life. It goes to show you that Central is true to what they stand for-- Semper Fidelis, always faithful to supporting the students in all that they do while at Central and thereafter.

My heart smiles when I recall walking down the 100s and being teased and greeted with a kind word from Mr. Baser and Mr. Clifford; it was in those cheerful moments when I realized I was family. It was my mission to do everything I could to avoid having a “freshman backpack.” School masses spent in historic Rockne Hall were always my favorite part of the month. Going from public school to Catholic school was everything but an easy journey, but as you can see my journey was all the more special, I never felt like an outsider and was accepted for who I was from the minute I was enrolled. I remember slowly getting over the fear of public speaking by delivering the morning announcements in CCB. Waking up every day excited for high school is something I commemorate most, It is no doubt that I am forever indebted to this place that became my home, and to teachers like Mrs. Motley, Mrs. Kostelnik and Mr. Penny who had such a passion for students and teaching that it made me almost jealous that I did not want to be a teacher.

Only at Central is the director of campus ministry also the heart of Central Catholic and the number one biggest fan of sports and every extracurricular activity the students participate in, if you ever had worry about not having anyone at a game or event—don’t stress because Father Hoffa will be there. I am nostalgic for the blistering cold football seasons, I remember Father Hoffa standing on the sidelines hyping up the students whether the score 56-7 with us on top or was 56-7 with the opposing team winning by a landslide. The score never mattered, what mattered more is students playing the game because it was loved and students watching the games to support one another. Speaking of football season, I remember the student section screaming with passion in their hearts and smiles on their faces “Hail Central!” to show visiting teams who we were and why we believed it. The student section was so loud and proud that I could hear them screaming and cheering on our mighty Vikings three blocks away from J. Birney Crum Stadium.

Prior to entering high school I thought I knew who I was, but the truth is high school, this high school, Allentown Central Catholic High school, gave me the chance to figure out the type of person that I wanted to be and all of the opportunity in the world to create that person. At Central I never felt that I was “just a number," Central showed me what it is like to be loved and accepted by everyone around me because I mattered and was a part of a long lasting tradition.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I can say that everyone at Central Catholic helped mold me or “raise me” into who I am today, through teaching me lessons about others and most importantly lessons about myself. Call me bias, but I still believe that I had the honor of attending the best high school in the Lehigh Valley. Thank you for everything, HAIL CENTRAL today and forever.

Sincerely,

A Proud Vikette