Senior goodbye: Jason Rush

LifeTouch

Dear Carroll,

Thank you for your cooperation in helping me and other classmates become better students. Throughout my time here, I have always been taught to act and radiate the likeness of God. I did not think much of it being an underclassman, but as I progressed through my time here, I took it into account and became a much better student and person in general.

Whilst I was approaching high school, I was told that these would be the best years of my life. People told me that they would do anything to relive those years. After Sophomore year, I thought of that as the most useless thing anyone has ever told me. I gained no friends and my grades were not living up to my expectations. No one knew who I was, and I wanted nothing more than to get out of school as fast as possible. Little did I know that I will soon learn what this school really had to offer. 

My junior year consisted of branching out to make more friends. This is the year I met two of my closest friends Luke Buckland and Henry Schalich. We sat at the same lunch table, and I officially made myself at home with people other than my best friend Michael. I kept this circle until the end of the year while simultaneously becoming closer with them. I am forever grateful for both of them and will never forget the laughs at our lunches. 

Going into senior year, I was still uneasy with my grades. I got constantly compared to my grades in middle school and still struggled with my work ethic. I knew I could do better, but I was confused on where to get the motivation I had lacked all three years prior. I found this through Kairos. The Kairos retreat single-handedly changed my life. The missing piece was God. My faith life was very inconsistent, and the second I focused my life on faith, all the good came with it. I willingly branched out my connections to people. I found the motivation to better myself, so that’s exactly what I did. My grades improved, I became more social, and now a lot more people know my name. I am so grateful that Archbishop Carroll helped shape me into the man I’m going to be throughout college and adulthood. I can now look back and say I’d do anything for a chance to relive those days in high school. 

Thank you,

Jason Rush