Gresh
Professor Casey T.C. Lloyd
October 19, 2008
Univ101
Free Write
All my life I have attended private Catholic schools. I guess my parents just
thought that those institutions would better educate my sister and me. I have been at the
top of my class since elementary school, and I graduated with a 4.0 from high school in
the spring. For high school I went to Mount de Sales Academy for girls in Baltimore
County Maryland. MDS is an all girls high school that was established by the
Dominican Order of Sisters in 1852. We would pray before every class and go to Mass in
the chapel located in the direct center of the school every first Friday of the month. One
of the traditions there is receiving a Miraculous Medal as a freshman, which is part of the
uniform we were to wear, and then receiving another when one we graduated. Our
uniform consisted of a light blue kilt and a white polo shirt with a nametag and
miraculous medal during the spring and fall, and a gray plaid kilt with a white button
down in the winter. I was in honors courses all four years, and took three advanced
placement classes as a senior. I was typically an A and B student, and I ran cross-country
and track all four years.
Coming to college park has been an entirely different experience for me. After
four years of sheltered education and all girls in a small institution, this university is a
breath of fresh air. I like being able to meet someone new every week if not every day.
Even so, I feel as though my past education experience has prepared me for the next four
years in that I am more open to the change of pace.