Dear Archbishop Carroll,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to find myself these last four years. As I entered into Carroll four years ago, I never thought I would learn what I did. These lessons I have learned showed me that happiness and joy does exist in school. At times, I sometimes do take this school for granted. However, that does not mean that I don’t appreciate what it has done and shown me. I will forever take all these lessons that I have learned these past four years with me.

Personally, I struggle giving advice to underclassmen because I still feel like I am an underclassman. Therefore, I guess what I could tell you is that time moves by extremely fast. It still feels like yesterday that I was walking into Carroll on my first day of freshman year, nervous and scared. Little did I know that when I stepped through those doors, that my time at Carroll would fly by so fast. Appreciate time with your friends, classmates, and teachers because before you know it, you will be a senior. You will be senior about to start a whole new chapter in life, and will not look back.

Another piece of advice I could give you is to get involved in any way possible. Get involved in clubs, sports, academics, or almost anything that interests you. By getting involved, it allows you to find yourself and what kind of interests you enjoy. These types of activities let you meet more friends and find your passion that you could possibly pursue in the future. Besides knowing what you do and don’t like to do while entering into college, this is a major benefit for yourself.

Finally, thank you Carroll for giving me the best four years of my life. No matter how many ups or downs I have experienced, I will always cherish my time at Carroll forever.

Jill Dempsey