A Prefect Reflects on Some of this Summer’s Most Wonderful Moments

Some Highlights

I loved greeting the students on the first day, meeting the quieter ones with their hesitant handshake, and seeing them a few days later laughing amidst a group of friends.

I loved sharing the beauty of the Mass with them, and the familiar Latin takes on a whole new significance by seeing it through their new eyes.

I loved talking with them at lunch and dinner after classes, conversing about the day’s reading, smiling at their eagerness to defend a point, gratified by their active desire to ask good questions and attempt good answers.

I loved playing volleyball and Frisbee with them, running around and reveling in the joy of a healthy body and fun camaraderie in the California sun.

I loved the quiet evening Rosary, joining my voice with theirs in offering our intentions to Jesus through Mary.

I even loved dressing in the College’s dress code again; seeing the young girls in the formal beauty of skirts and dresses gives me a sense of the young women they will become — beautiful, educated, moral centers of future lives.

I loved rereading the works I encountered as a student myself, and am still amazed by how much the College has influenced my thinking even in the years past graduation.

I loved playing games with the students in the coffee shop in the evenings, laughing and talking as if we’ve known each other for two years instead of two weeks.

I especially loved the one-on-one conversations with students, on the lawn, in the residence halls, outside the Chapel; it never fails to amaze me how earnest and eager those young minds are to engage in seeking the truth. I loved it when they brought me their questions about the College, offering me the chance to share my continual admiration and gratitude for the education I received here.

I loved forming friendships with both the students and prefects, gratified and honored when they asked me to keep them in my prayers at the end of the program.

I loved spending time with the other prefects, especially the ones who were students working with me on past summer programs, and even though I have never been in school with any of them, I found a kindred spirit in each one of them; they brought so much fun and laughter to my two weeks here.

I especially loved working with our Admissions Director, Mr. Jon Daly, whose selfless kindness and joy energize all around him, and whose deep appreciation for the good the College does permeates all he says and does.

To be continued tomorrow!