Reflecting upon the past 5 years, I realize everything St. Joe has offered me.

Rigorous academics that push me to be the best student that I can be and that prepare me for college level courses, as well as various clubs that have opened up many opportunities for me; ranging from Marist conferences in New York, to NJHS, green team, project red, PPLT, model UN, and student council. A Marist education-  is basically the mission to make Jesus known and loved. I’m not Catholic, but attending this school has made me appreciate my own religion so much more. The Catholic education offered here is what creates this positive environment.

Teachers that care about their students and will put in countless of extra hours to make sure that our college essays are perfect and that we are completely prepared for our midterms. I’ve emailed teachers the night before a midterm asking them last minute questions and they respond back within 5 min, and… it was one o’clock in the morning.

I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of the swim team and compete as a Bloodhound for my entire high school. We cheer on our fellow bloodhounds at Friday night football games and our school pep rallies, and those are some of my best memories from this school. 

Finally, There is a Constant push here at SJA to give back to the community through service. A few examples are Marist Days of Service, Marist Youth- a school club that is dedicated to serving the school and community, I’m even taking a class this year that allows me to leave campus for 2 periods of the day and do community service. This is one of my favorite aspects about St. Joe- because it is like no other school in the Valley. We go beyond the basic college service hour requirements and do everything we can to help out those around us.

Overall, my piece of advice for any students coming to St. Joe is to take full advantage of every aspect of our school. Get involved in all of the clubs and sports we have, take those challenging AP classes, ask all of the questions you have because there will always be someone to answer them, participate in Marist Day of Service, lose your voice screaming at our homecoming football game, and most importantly- enjoy every part of the full middle school and high school experience that SJA offers. Saint Joseph Academy is an amazing community, I’m so fortunate that I chose St. Joe, and I'm sure that you will feel the same way too.