Holy Family High School is a special place.

Being involved in the school in any way means you know everyone and everyone knows you.  And for better or for worse, whether you like it or not you become part of the school. Although it’s hard to see at times whether you’re sitting in the dean’s office or staring down hours of homework, Holy Family is a place that forces you to be a-part of something bigger than yourself.

I can’t overlook the several problems I have with many of the rules and policies. However those things aren’t going to be what we remember Holy Family for.

At the core of the school there is an amazing community, everyone in the building cares about each other and you’ll quickly learn everyone’s name. It’s this tight sense of community which nurtures each student’s ambitions. It’s not focus on religion or the sports teams or curriculum, it’s the people.

There are so many people who spring to mind when thinking about the people at Holy Family.

Mr. Matt Mondragon who not only works hard to the school looking and running well but he also makes it a part of his job to connect with the students. Really he’s one of the few people I know who is truly happy, and does his best to share that with everyone in the building. Oftentimes he’s asked to be a guest speaker in religion classes because of his insight.

For me personally Mr. Mondragon changed my life. I was at a point where I felt like a complete outsider. He came to talk to my class and at the end of his talk he made everyone write down their biggest insecurity. Then he invited everyone to read what they wrote out loud. I went up and said mine; it was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I’ll carry that experience throughout my whole life.

Mrs. Laura Reynolds is another person who springs to mind when I think about important people at Holy Family. She legitimately tries the build the band program. Her guitar class were the highlight of my purple day.

Then there are teachers like Mr. Willden who somehow made British Literature entertaining.

There are so many other teachers and staff members I could list off.

Looking back, all the detentions and arguments seem to almost be lost to a blur.

Looking back I remember wrestling practices that pushed me, I remember getting to play football, I remember meeting people like Jackson Fuller, Brooke Lovato and Brandon Alvorado.

Now looking forward is hard, but I hope to do something with it.

Finally I wanted to thank the school for introducing me to the best friends I’ll ever have, I’m truly happy that I was able to go to Holy Family.