A Parent Ambassador's Perspective: Why My Children Chose Marianapolis

One of our fantastic Parent Ambassadors, Kathleen, shares why two of her children chose Marianapolis and why it was the best decision for each of them!

As a proud Marianapolis parent, I often find myself explaining what and where Marianapolis is. Then the obvious follow-up question, how did you hear about the School. The answer dates back to well before I had children even close to high school age—when I engaged in a conversation with the headmaster who agreed to meet with me to discuss volunteer work I was doing for my children’s elementary school. I couldn’t help but remember this meaningful introduction years later when my daughter was thinking about high school.

Meghan was looking for a school that would offer her a rigorous academic experience, small class sizes, leadership opportunities, and exposure to diverse students who shared her love of and commitment to learning. After exploring schools closer to our home, I suggested attending Marianapolis’ open house. After getting past the fact that it involved traveling to a different state, it was love at first sight. As we left the campus, she turned to my husband and me and said she had found her school.

Since the day she stepped foot on campus as a first-year student, MPrep became her second home and the teachers and students her extended family. In addition to challenging herself academically and taking multiple AP and honors courses, she became active in numerous student organizations and became a student-athlete, playing volleyball for two seasons and rowing on the School’s crew team for 6 seasons. Meghan graduated last year and has just completed her first year in college at Elon University in North Carolina. The pride that her father and I felt as she was rewarded for her incredible accomplishments as a student at MPrep and now at Elon, where she earned highest honors both semesters, is hard to put into words.

As Meghan began her second year at MPrep, we began our last high school search with our youngest, Patrick. Though we encouraged Patrick to be open to all the schools that his siblings had considered, we assumed that Patrick’s search would likely result in following his brother (who had graduated years earlier) to Saint John’s. This assumption was emphasized by the fact that every one of his middle school friends were also headed to SJ. Patrick went to both open houses and spent a significant amount of time thinking about what each school would be able to offer him. Benefitting from a middle school with small classes and the opportunity to discover more about his interests outside the classroom with leadership roles and athletics, he announced he would be attending MPrep.

I remember telling Patrick how proud we were of his decision to not follow his friends, when he knew deep down the experience he was looking for was at Marianapolis. He never looked back. He remained confident in his decision and arrived for his first year ready to take advantage of all the School had to offer. He has played on a sports team nearly every semester, joined extracurricular activities, taken advantage of the day-student boarding experience multiple times, and signed-up for school trips. As I write this, he is completing work on his final project and once submitted will officially join the ranks of next year’s senior class.

Our children are so unique and are blessed with different strengths and talents, but they both have been able to thrive at Marianapolis. We believe it is due to the environment and the dedication of the staff, many of whom literally live on campus, who give their heart to every student and epitomize the word mentor. They are not only our children’s teachers—they are their counselors, coaches, dorm parents, extracurricular advisors, and most important, their friends. You know…it is often said, it takes a village. We were lucky to find a village as exceptional as Marianapolis…we will forever be grateful for what they have given to our children and our family.