Friday, January 17, 2014

The New Yorker

Alexandria has been at San Juan Diego Catholic High School (SJDCHS) since her freshman year. Currently just she, her Mother and Father live at home, but she has two older brothers who’ve already started lives and families of their own in New York. Alexandria loves to do outdoorsy things, like camping and seeing outdoor concerts, which is a big thing here in the Austin area. She has also sung in the school talent show for the past three years and is heavily involved in many organizations at SJDCHS such as Student Government and the National Honor Society.

Apart from her home and school life, Alexandria has strong ambitions as an environmental lawyer for her life after SJDCHS “I took AP environmental science and was really passionate about the environment. I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer and then I found out that I would be able to combine the two.” During her junior year, Alexandria began working at McGinnis Lochridge and Kilgore LLP, a law firm in the Austin area, and is now employed at Graves Dougherty Hearon and Moody in downtown Austin. Her duties include secretarial work, filing, scanning, and other administration duties. “During my time at Graves Dougherty Hearon and Moody, I was given the opportunity to have lunch with four different lawyers. I spoke with them about their jobs and the colleges they went to. Being able to actually work in a law firm just reaffirmed what I wanted to do.”


Alexandria speaks highly of the staff at SJDCHS. Teachers such as Mr. Applewhite [Environmental Science] and Mrs. Zebrowski [former Theology teacher] have been major influences in her decision to pursue a career in law. “The senior seminar class has been extremely helpful. Mrs. Liu assisted me through the entire college application process including financial aid applications.” Alexandria has applied and been accepted to colleges such as St. Edward’s University, The University of the Incarnate Word, and Hofstra University. “Although I’d like to leave Austin to travel and experience other cities, I eventually want to end up back here to start a family and enjoy life.”

Friday, January 10, 2014

Giving Back To The Community

Jessica, a senior at San Juan Diego Catholic High School (SJDCHS), has attended private school since she was a fifth grader. She strongly believes that attending a private school for a large part of her education has allowed her to decide what she wants to do with her life and has given her a leg up when applying for colleges and narrowing down her career choices. “There’s a lot more work, I believe, that goes with attending a private school, but I think you learn more and have closer relationships with your classmates instead of having cliques like at public schools.”

The teachers at SJDCHS have been nothing but inspirational to Jessica. Educators such as Ms. Liu, the college counselor, and Mr. Bongard, the history teacher, have inspired Jessica to work hard and pursue her goals.  “Not only have I been taught to study and manage my time [at SJDCHS] but I’ve also learned how to have a good work-life balance.” With the help of college counselor Alison Liu, Jessica has been accepted to Lamar University and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, where she hopes to major in biology and eventually get her masters in marine biology.


Along with a private school education contributing to her work ethic, Jessica believes it has also contributed to knowing what she wants to do for her career, and that is Marine Biology. “I would always watch the discovery channel and watch people scuba dive and get to see the ocean. I want to help make the ocean healthier for not just us but the animals that inhabit it.” To further her dream of becoming a marine biologist, Jessica has also attended a sea camp in Galveston which taught her about scuba diving certification. “I want to eventually give back to other communities and help the environment. I believe I’ve had a really good starting off point with my education.”