As the 2020 school year comes to an end, our seniors are off to a new and exciting chapter in their lives! Their hard work and cooperation through these wacky times will never be forgotten, and always respected by the faculty and staff. With this new and exciting journey, the Seniors will be embarking on in the near future, the faculty has a few words of wisdom for the special class of 2020.

Taking a trip down memory lane, faculty member Mr. Mack reflected on his favorite memories with the class of 2020. He said retreats were his favorite memory. But these memories hold great value and importance in preparing the seniors to be ready for their new chapter.

When asked how has Prep changed these students into individuals who are ready to be leaders and be successful after their time at Prep, he said, “Seniors are self-aware who they are, their strengths and weaknesses, what drives them and what they have to offer the world.”

He also said, “Seniors are critical thinkers – they take in information and analyses it – what makes it true, is it true for me, then take this and make good decisions.”

What makes these seniors especially ready to lead he said, is, “Reflection and depth- seniors reflect constantly about the world, science, faith, themselves, injustices etc.  This means they are a lot deeper than even most adults.  They are ready to take the conversation or our society to a new and better level.”

Lastly, Mr. Mack leaves the seniors with this bit of advice: “Be yourself, study what you are passionate about.”

For Mr. Hickey, his favorite memory with the class of 2020 goes way back to when they were sophomores and he taught around 25 of them in scripture class. He said, “Every class was a blessing for me. They were so funny, creative, and willing to learn. Very different personalities, but the inherent goodness was strong throughout.”

When asked to track all the way back to when Mr. Hickey himself was a senior in high school, some things were very different, but some the same as today. He said it was different because, “I drove a Ford Pinto with a racing stripe, listened to an 8-track, and danced to disco. Oh, and the last couple months of my senior year wasn’t cancelled by a pandemic.”

How is today is similar to his senior year? He said, “I had long hair in ’79 and now have long hair again in ’20.”

With graduation in August, Mr. Hickey said, “I will hopefully get a chance to speak with them at graduation in Benaroya Hall in August. If so, the joy in that space will blow through the roof – I am so looking forward to it.”

At graduation, he said, “I would say to them then what I would say to them now: I am just really proud of them. They have been great throughout their time at Prep, but no better than these past weeks. They have shown their merit.”

Although it has not been the most conventional ending to high school for the seniors, they are loved and will be remembered by every person involved in the Prep community. The faculty and staff know that they are ready to be effective leaders and go forth and set the world on fire!