Noelle Longenberger

Class of 2021 senior goodbye

Noelle+Longenberger

The last four years at Carroll have been a journey that has shaped me to be a person that I never thought I would be. I can attribute most of this change to a few aspects of my high school career that were a staple in my experience here. At Carroll, I was reconnected with my faith, met lifelong friends and I found a passion that I have turned into my career.

In my freshman year, I reconnected with my faith after about seven years of not actively participating in any kind of spiritual activity. However, during the freshman retreat, I realized how powerful faith is and, I wanted it to be a part of my life again. I was interested in faith and learning more about Catholicism, but the part I loved the most was the community. I loved going to events like Abbey Fest and Genesis and eventually, halfway through my sophomore year, I decided I wanted to convert to Catholicism. Soon after I converted I was asked to attend Kairos for the K99 retreat. I then went on to lead the new sophomore retreat, Accompania, and Kairos 102. Both as a retreatant and a leader, I was able to not only grow in my faith but learn more about myself as a whole. These experiences are something that only could have happened at Carroll and will be memories that I will have for the rest of my life. The spiritual journey that I went on was so important to me, and I hope that I can continue to grow after I leave Carroll in this way. 

Another important part of my Carroll experience was meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends. When I first came to Carroll, I was under the impression that I wouldn’t know anyone because I was coming from a public school; however, I ended up reconnecting with people that I hadn’t seen since elementary school.  Small world, I suppose. After catching up with them I was introduced to one of my best friends in the entire world. He has helped me grow as a person throughout my high school years in more ways than I can describe. His kindness and encouragement are what got me through the day, and I can never thank him enough. Finally, in my sophomore year, I met some of my favorite people ever through ACTS stage crew. There was a group of seniors that graduated in 2019 that were some of the best people I have ever met. We spent many hours in Carroll’s auditorium and made many memories that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. I am so thankful for them and the time that I got to spend with them. In that same year, I met two amazing faculty members, Mrs. Mauger and Mrs. Landrum, who, sadly, do not work at Carroll anymore. They both pushed me to be the best student I could be and were always there to help and support me. I am so grateful that I was able to meet them and will always remember them as role models as I start my adult life. 

Finally, Carroll’s state-of-the-art theatre program, ACTS, has helped me find my passion for production and design. When I was younger I knew I wanted to have an unconventional job and lifestyle, particularly doing something creative. I thought I wanted to be a performer up until the beginning of my sophomore year when I decided to dedicate myself to both performing and stage crew. I ended up loving stage crew so much that I decided to switch focus and only pursue production work. Eventually, I found that I liked the design elements of production, specifically lighting design. At Carroll, I was able to build up my resume and meet lighting designers that eventually allowed me to be accepted into UNCSA. I am very excited to start my journey in my career and thanks to my experience at Carroll I will be able to grow and flourish with lifelong friends, new-found faith, in a career that I love. Thank you, Carroll.