Campus Life

You Can Always Come Home to the Joe... A Letter from SJ Cadet, Megan Frattaroli ’21

St Joes has always felt like home to me. Starting in 1981 with my father, to my three older siblings, and now me - the last in the family starting my senior year - thirty nine years later. We are a part of something much more than simply a high school.

Walking through the doors my freshman year into a building where I only knew five kids from my middle school, I pursued a fresh start to create my optimal high school experience. During my first two years, I learned how to balance my extracurricular activities and school work, established friend groups, and tried my best to become a better version of myself. I am so thankful for the people St Joes has led me to and the memories I have created, whether it was dressing up as Greek gods and goddesses in my English class freshman year, or singing along with Dr. Valois sophomore year as he played the guitar during American History. These early memories helped to create a sturdy foundation for the remainder of my high school experience and shape me into the person I am today.

St Joes has gone through many changes since I have arrived in the fall of 2017, but the core remains the same. Though we have replaced the gym floors and added on the Health & Wellness Center, St Joes continues to be a well known place for teenagers of all kinds to come together and receive an unmatched education. Thanks to the generations of students before me, traditions remain the same for the past fifty years. From dressing up on Halloween with hopes to win "best dressed", yelling at the top of your lungs during the Battle of the Classes at the pep rallies, or celebrating the Feast of Saint Joseph in March and participating in karaoke in front of the entire school, each event enhances the fact that St Joes is more than a place to learn, but rather a home away from home for each of us. 

As my senior year swiftly approaches, I have realized that when former students say high school flies by, they truly mean it. I can still remember recieving my acceptance letter, my first day of school, and the satisfaction of clicking with a new friend in those first couple weeks of September. This next year will surely be different from the others, and I have learned to never take a second for granted while I am at St Joes. Though I will be going off to college shortly, I know I have been well prepared and will miss the warm and welcoming community I have been a part of for the past four years. Whether you are a future student, a current student, or alumni, you can always come home to the Joe.

~ Megan Frattaroli '21