With faith as their guide, new grads look to the future

By Ambria Hammel | May 22, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

The photo caption on the front page of Seton Catholic High School’s newspaper last month described them well.

“We are destined for greatness and made to shine. We are the class of 2009,” read the caption beneath the senior class photo.

But the 1,137 seniors who graduated from local Catholic high schools last month are so much more than a concise rhyme. They’ll be soldiers, writers, actors and priests. Others are still discerning how to best use their God-given gifts in the community.

Either way, many students discovered that a small community, strong academics and obedience to the faith fostered by Catholic high schools has prepared them well for future endeavors — both academic and personal.

Class of 2009 Flickr photostream

“You were created by God to become a gift for others. Believe that,” MaryBeth Mueller, superintendent for the diocese’s five high schools, told the graduates at their respective ceremonies. “God created you for that purpose, to indeed be a gift.”

Sean Lawlor, who was the first of five siblings to graduate from a diocesan high school, already has long-term plans of serving others.

The Seton alum will attend the University of Southern California on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Lawlor will start college a week early for boot camp and then juggle classes on international relations and workouts with the battalion during each semester.

He’ll owe five years in the service after graduation, but plans to enter as an intelligence officer.

Kate Murphy, who graduated from Notre Dame Preparatory May 19, is headed for a similar future with the Army. She loved the sense of community she felt with ROTC during a college visit.

Murphy is leaning toward studying international relations at Gonzaga University. She wants to learn Arabic so she can better serve the Army after college.

Shannon Ryan isn’t set on a major yet either. It could be drama, theology or philosophy, which she began studying as an elective class junior year.

“It got me really, really excited about philosophy and my religion in general,” Ryan said of the class. “It challenged me to question and explain and defend my faith and dialog about it.”

Ryan, who grew up in Catholic schools and is a second generation Seton alumna, will continue to unravel the mysteries of the faith at the University of Dallas.

Lauren Hathaway will also continue her studies at a Catholic institution. She’s headed to Fordham University in New York.

She’ll study English for now, though rigorous classes at St. Mary’s High School also have her interested in medical careers. She hopes to also study abroad to see how people of other cultures live.

“Being in a Catholic school has encouraged us to look outside our self and see what’s going on in the world around us,” the third generation St. Mary’s alumna said.

Attending Brophy College Preparatory already afforded A.J. Arvizu the chance to see how others live beyond U.S. borders. He took several immersion trips to countries like Guatemala during his tenure on the all-boys campus.

“That has allowed me to wake up to the world’s problems and want to help people,” Arvizu said. Teachers across the campus constantly reminded students to look not just at the issues of the day, but also at the human aspect behind them.

It was that emphasis that motivated Arvizu to major in justice studies at Arizona State University.

At least two Bourgade Catholic High School graduates found inspiration in the school’s weekly liturgies, regular prayer, chaplain and all-around attention to the faith.

“It’s an advantage to be able to discern God’s will and see where He’s calling you,” Steven Torres said of a Catholic school. Both Torres and his friend Jonathan Sherman transferred from public schools shortly before high school.

“In a public school I don’t think the religious life or single life is emphasized,” Torres added.

The friends plan to embrace both as they study for the priesthood.

Torres was accepted as a seminarian for the Phoenix Diocese in April. Sherman, who moved to the Valley this school year, is still working through the application process for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

The young men said being connected to the sacramental life at Bourgade has prepared them for their futures. They also found strength by offering a weekly rosary, something Sherman and Torres started on campus in Advent.

Gidel Dawson discovered a love for talking about the past as a result of her Catholic education. It was Sr. Joanie Nuckols, BVM, at Xavier College Preparatory who infused the passion in her.

Dawson enjoyed her experience as a student ambassador where she escorted prospective students around campus. She plans to merge the two passions — history and communication — into a double major at Creighton University.

Dawson also gave praise to all seven religious sisters serving Xavier, noting that they were influential to her future.