In an open letter, senior, Hannah Nguyen expresses what her four years at Cathedral High School have been like. Hannah and her class of 2015 are the first to spend all four years of their high school career at the Wilbraham location. Please read what Hannah has to say: My name is Hannah Nguyen and I am an 18 year old senior at Cathedral High School. I’m a proud parishioner of Holy Name where I also teach CCD, am a junior lector and an altar server. I’m a first-generation American whose parents emigrated here from Vietnam in 1984 and we now live in East Forest Park. I’m a proud Catholic and have always attended parochial schools, from Holy Name to St. Michael’s and my dream was to graduate from Cathedral. I hope to continue that tradition and further my studies at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. I am a proud student, learner, thinker, sister, daughter, friend, motivator, and seasoned- decision maker. I have learned through my experiences at Cathedral that good decisions come from a place of caring and require the most consideration. Well thought decisions come from those I make with my heart and mind, but also take into account those around me. My senior year is full of making (and waiting for) decisions. The biggest of those is the decision on where to attend college. I have to decide where to apply and how to put my best foot forward. Who better to ask than the experts of this decision making process? Those experts include my guidance counselors, current college students, and parents of college students. In the end, I will make an informed decision with the input that I gathered to the best of my abilities, knowing full well that my decisions will impact me and my future. I know the Diocese of Springfield also has a big decision to make; which is whether or not to rebuild Cathedral High School. I believe the best decision will be made by including the people who make Cathedral the school that it is - the students. We need to continue the 131-year tradition and support the next installment of alumni. These are the people who, like those who graduated before them, will remember Cathedral as the place that built their foundation for success. The students are the reason why Cathedral is extraordinary. In the four years that I have been here, I am proud to say that I have seen my fellow classmates excel in whatever discipline they are practicing. In my sophomore year, four of my friends and I placed second in the high school division of the Chemistry Olympiad at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Some of them have gone on to pursue careers in the medical field and chemical engineering. Our Mathletes team has never failed to rank in the top 10. Credit for these achievements is due to the high-level courses made available to us that challenge us to reach our fullest potential. In regards to the Language Arts, the majority of my AP class received high enough scores on our exams to qualify for college credits! In addition, my AP class has had the opportunity to learn about each other on a more personal level as we proofread each other’s college essays. In History, our teachers serve as not only educators but as role models. I voted for the first time this year and I was so proud! If it weren’t for my history teachers, I wouldn’t understand the difference one voice can make. It seems that I can’t open a newspaper without reading something about our Athletics lately either! Whether it’s the golf team winning Western Mass, the girl’s soccer team reaching the semi-finals with a small roster and of course our #1 ranked boy’s hockey team. Cathedral students have always excelled outside the classroom as well! So much so, that there are too many successful athletes, teams and seasons to highlight in this letter. The Fine Arts’ department has performed shows at CityStage in Downtown Springfield where they were a hit! A close friend of mine went on to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York to further her career. The music department has sent students to the Berklee College of Music and the Music Division of the Hartt School; two of the best schools in the world for pursuing a career in music! As you can see, the accomplishments of Cathedral students are as outstanding as ever; in every discipline. The students should absolutely be a voice that needs to be heard in the professional proceedings that involve the future of our school. We are the ones who are excited, spirited and enthusiastic to wear the Cathedral name on our jackets, class rings, and jerseys before we head off into the world at the end of our four years. By the support I have witnessed in recent weeks, I think as alumni we will continue to be ecstatic about passing the torch onto the next generation. We, the students, are the future of the Church and the world. We deserve a word in what will become of us (may it be a stake-holder meeting, an online survey, or another venue). We embody the accomplishments I have listed above and we attribute the success to Cathedral High School. We all make decisions and know that input from many is important in this process of rebuilding. Who better to acknowledge than the people Cathedral is currently nurturing in order to gain the best, not the fastest, understanding of the importance of Cathedral?
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 19:13:30 +0000
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