This year, three members of the class of 2017 will embark on their college journey a bit earlier than the rest of their contemporaries. Aslan McCurdy ’17, Bella Oishi ’17, and Phillip Stamolis ’17 have chosen to participate in Prep’s Matteo Ricci College program and attend Seattle University in the fall.
While the numbers heading to SU have gradually been declining over the years as more and more juniors are choosing to remain at Prep for their senior year, Aslan, Bella, and Philip and confident that they are heading in the right direction. “I chose MRC because I feel like I kind of outgrew Prep and am ready for a new chapter of my life” says Bella Oishi ’17.
Oishi added “I will miss seeing my friends everyday but I’m excited for a more giving schedule.”
Aslan McCurdy ’17 had her own reasons to enter the program: “I am excited to finish college a year early, if I choose to stay there. I like the program because it’s so flexible, and the humanities apply to many occupations. I want to go to med school, and this program is perfect for that because I will study the humanities and get a degree in bio med.”
Although ecstatic about starting a new chapter at SU, Aslan, like Bella, will surely miss parts of Prep. She says, “It’ll be hard not to see my friends as often, but because my schedule is so flexible, I can always pop over and hang out with them during their free periods.”
Phillip Stamolis ’17 also will miss his teachers and close friends at Prep next year, but is enthralled to be enrolled at SU: “I chose the Matteo Ricci program because the program gives me the opportunity to get a dual degree within my four years of college. The humanitarian degree will provide a well rounded education along with my other area of interest. I’m excited because I will still graduate from Prep next year but at the same time I’ll have a year of college classes at SU.”
Luckily, Aslan, Bella, and Phillip won’t be completely gone from us quite yet. All three of them plan to return to Prep to attended dances, games, and occasionally assemblies to remain a part of the community. After all, no matter where you are, everyone who has been a part of the Prep family is a Panther for life!