Panther Paths
by Diego Jones, '12
2 min. read — April 16, 2021
In this unprecedented year, the Saint Anselm’s experience remains as solid as a rock.
Since my graduation in 2012, I attended Catholic University and then moved to sunny Southern California. Unfortunately, upon the onset of the pandemic I was forced to return home, both literally and figuratively, and this opportunity I have had to be on the other side of things here at the Abbey has been the best part of an otherwise slightly grim year.
During my St. Anselm’s experience I learned the importance of comradery and I remain in touch with several of my classmates to this day. Additionally, the skills I picked up throughout my time at the Abbey were invaluable during my college and post-grad academic experiences. I would like to stress the importance of picking up these skills now and the way they eased the transition into my first few years of college, where I often found that the AP classes I had been taking here were more challenging than even those of the university.
My fondest memory of St. Anselm’s would be the entire experience as a whole and the friendships and brotherhood that continues to this day, but one of the most unique experiences we were able to enjoy was attending a gathering at the White House with our AP Comparative Politics class, and even being able to shake the hand of then President Obama.
I see myself in a lot of the current students here and it has been a blast sympathizing with my former teachers about how much of an ordeal I must have put them through and how ironic it is that I am now the one trying to get the “me” to sit down and be quiet. In that sense, the Abbey seems like it has not changed a single bit; I see so many kindred spirits among the current students, consistently drawing parallels between my former classmates. Despite the challenges that all the Zooming has presented, I am proud of my fellow panthers for the way they have and continue to handle such a difficult challenge, and will always remember 2020/21 as a year that was one of the most rewarding as well as challenging of my life.