Liam Gray's Journey in Guided Studies

As a division 1 collegiate athlete, Liam Gray has little downtime. In addition to his academics, he must also navigate a rigorous athletic schedule.

There are moments, though, when he tries to take it all in. After all, he’s a redshirt sophomore football player for the teal-clad Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, a team that has won 31 games over the past three seasons and has been ranked as high as 9th in the AP Top 25 poll. Their rapid, successful evolution as a program has resulted in their games now regularly shown in primetime on ESPN.

Last season, Gray was named to the College Football Network’s All-Sun Belt Conference second team as a kickoff specialist. He sets his sights on adding the team’s place-kicking duties to his role as the Chanticleers head into spring camp.

Gray was a weapon on the field at Holy Family as a wide receiver, punter, and placekicker. He was a first-team all-state selection in 2020 and followed that up by being named as a BoCo Preps first-team selection and the Special Teams Player of the Year in 2021. His booming right leg landed him as a 5-star kicking prospect in the Class of 2021 recruiting class.

But it wasn’t until he found out that he was named to Coastal Carolina University’s Dean’s List his freshman year that he really stopped and reflected upon his journey. While his athletic successes are well chronicled and seen by many, Liam was equally dedicated to his academic pursuits – something that never came easy for him.

“Seeing my name on the Dean’s List meant that I wasn’t cruising through college just trying not to fail, but I was excelling with the techniques I learned in the Guided Studies program at Holy Family,” he said.

When Gray enrolled at Holy Family as a freshman, he was a little nervous about how he would fare with the academic rigor he saw his older sister Morgan (Class of 2016) go through, a feeling shared by his parents, Jennifer and Bill.

“Our daughter Morgan was very successful at Holy Family. But she and Liam are two very different learners,” Jennifer said. “As early as second grade,

Liam struggled a bit in school. His thirdgrade teacher mentioned ADHD, and from that point, it was always in the back of my mind. He is such a sweet, gentle, and kind child. He just couldn’t focus on his school work.”

Liam struggled academically during his first semester at Holy Family, and the Grays were introduced to Holy Family’s Guided Studies program led by Luanne Bartoletta. Guided Studies assists students with learning differences to become effective learners. Eligibility for this program is based on one or more of the following criteria: IEP, 504 Plan, Service Plan, high school placement test scores, transcripts, and diagnosed learning differences.

Liam began working with Mrs. Bartoletta, and Jennifer began to see changes in her son. “Mrs. Bartoletta brought so much calm to Liam. She suggested we have him tested for ADHD, and he indeed had it,” she said. “She worked with Liam to help him understand his struggles and gave him the grace to process them with her. She is an angel sent from above.”

“At first, I kept the fact that I was in Guided Studies a secret, so I wasn’t seen as different,” Liam recalls. “Later on, I realized there is no reason to be ashamed of it because I was getting the help I needed to succeed.”

Guided Studies helps students become active learners by focusing on time management, organization, study, test-taking, note-taking, long- and short-term memory retrieval, and critical thinking skills.

“For kids who’ve felt like a square peg in a round hole at school, being surrounded by people who understand and are willing to accommodate them can be a huge relief,” said Bartoletta. “We are responsible for knowing the students’ strengths, weaknesses, and any accommodations needed.”

Accommodations typically provided to students in Guided Studies can include allowing extra time on tests, having tests read aloud, and taking tests in a comfortable environment like the Guided Studies room.

“It’s easy to say a student needs to improve, but the real challenge comes with understanding their individual needs, having them become accountable and collectively working to improve,” Bartoletta explains. “These students are given individualized support to advance their academic performance. We aim to have them build their skillset, so they eventually move on from the program.”

“One of the main things Mrs. Bartoletta talked about with me was using a planner,” Liam said. “I was never really a planner person until she began working with me. She would check my planner weekly, and I initially thought it wasn’t a big deal. But now, I see how that organizational skill is helping me in college.”

“Mrs. Bartoletta was crucial to my academics and helped me figure out how to stay focused on work, study, and plan my week accordingly,” Liam adds. “She helped me work through things I struggled at. She wanted me to be engaged in my education, and I embraced it. She helped give me a new mindset as it related to school and my grades.”

“Graduating from Holy Family was a huge deal for me. I never really noticed it until my first semester of college when I realized how much Holy Family and Guided Studies had prepared me for my future. I still struggle with ADHD, and habits that I created at Holy Family continue to help me today.”