Augustine
After I graduated from OLSHA in 2013, I pursued a degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). While there I encountered many viewpoints which were the antithesis of what I had learned and assimilated in high school. Because of the lessons I had learned and the discipline I had cultivated while at OLSHA, I was able to stand up for what I believed and to inform others of my knowledge and understanding of Western Civilization. I was also able to use the uniquely Catholic perspective of the world that was bolstered by OLSHA to gain a better understanding of the technical intricacies and beauty of the physical world created by God. The technical abilities I learned in college, along with the spiritual and intellectual competencies I had gained in high school, equipped me to advance my engineering career through positions with large aerospace companies. I worked on a myriad of aircrafts including passenger airliners, attack helicopters, and advanced air-dominance fighter jets. Throughout my years at UIUC I resolutely held my faith thanks to the firm bedrock reinforced in me at OLSHA. At college I served and assisted at the ordinary form of the Mass regularly, and was the master of ceremonies for the extraordinary form of the Mass. The strong faith that I was able to cultivate through the teaching at OLSHA has assisted me in my endeavors, both great and small. I regularly attend Mass, and I am a member of the parish council and men's group at my parish. The Catholic community, although secondary to the sacrifice of the Mass itself, is of the utmost importance and must be a breachless bulwark upon which the foundations of future Catholics and nations rests. I am grateful for OLSHA instilling this understanding in me. My favorite memory is class with Fr. Bartolomeo.
Achievements: ACT: perfect score of 36 in reading and overall score in the top 2% of the nation; Team-lead for NASA-sponsored RASCAL competition.