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News
September 9, 2011
www.RebelReview.org
Journey with college representatives Reps help students like Rebel Review staffer Wade Catt sort out college choices BY WADE CATT
News Editor
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ife is a journey that most likely, for Roncalli students anyway, involves attending some kind of college. With three years of high school under my belt, the importance of college applications is starting to sink in. Throughout my junior year, I, along with many of my fellow classmates, procrastinated when it came to the college application process. I’m a senior now, and it’s crunch time. Many of the colleges I wish to apply to have a deadline in mid December, and I have a lot of work ahead of me. This whole predicament left me wondering why I, like so many others, never did anything much more than the minimum during my underclassmen years. Then suddenly something crazy happened: I listened to announcements one day and heard an advertisement for the “Evening with College Representatives.” Intrigued, I met with Mrs. Mary Hall, the College Counselor, for a better idea of what the whole night was about. Apparently, I would be able to choose three colleges from the list of 20 that interested me, and I could attend a half-hour information seminar with each representative from said college. I would be given information about admissions, curriculum and student-life on campus. “The goal is to leave with your questions answered,” Hall said. Although it was not necessarily essential for me to attend, I was highly encouraged to go. “It is valuable for students of all grades to attend, but especially juniors,” Hall said. Students should start looking into their college
of choice junior year. Starting junior year, students are allowed to take two days off for college visits. I found myself wondering if I could save the trip to a college by attending one of these presentations. Mrs. Hall told me, “Absolutely not.” College visits are much more in depth, and the “Evening with College Representatives” should not take their place. With this new information, I was super pumped up and ready to meet with some college reps. Was the evening all that it had been hyped up to be? In a word, yes. I personally found the entire evening helpful and informative. Not every representative was going to have information that appied to every student, but there was something for everyone. “Some of the representatives were kind of boring, but overall I think I learned a lot,” senior Evan Anttonen said. I found the information given by these reps to be extremely valuable and, in some cases, news to me. In fact, several colleges have major-specific requirements that were thoroughly explained. The experts agreed these presentations definitely should not replace college visits. Most representatives gave me a rough idea of student life, admission requirements and a laundry list of activities they boast. Above all these meetings acted less as decision-makers, but instead as attention-grabbers. On my journey to the “Evening with College Reps,” I got exactly what I expected: an informative, yet brief, view of local colleges. PHOTO BY KRISTEN MCCARTHY
COLLEGE CHOICE CHALLENGES: Rebel Review staffer Wade Catt is like many other seniors. He’s feeling the heat of making a college decision.
Rebels from across the world This year, three new students from different countries join the Rebel family BY KRISTEN MCCARTHY
Feature Editor
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very year students from all over the world come to Roncalli to participate in the foreign exchange program. This year Roncalli is fortunate enough to have three students walk the halls of Roncalli: Manu Barazal Sanjuan from Seville, Spain, Carla Campos Ferrin from Castelion, Spain, and Rike Scholze from Germany. Each brings their own specific knowledge and talents to share, and in return, hopes to accomplish their own personal goals. “I hope that my English improves, and I have a very good experience this year,” said Campos Ferrin. Campos Ferrin was required to study English in her school, but some foreign exchange students choose to do so even if its not required. Although studying a foreign language is a similarity to U.S. schools, there are also many differences between U.S. schools and those in other countries. “We don’t have lunch at school. We have two 30-minute breaks where you can eat snacks, and we eat dinner after we get home from school,” said Scholze. Adjusting to this much change in such a short amount of time may be hard, but the students have help from their host families, with whom
they become close, despite the differences in their daily lives. “There are some differences but mostly the home lives have much in common. For example, both my family and my host family are always very busy,” said Scholze who is staying with junior Betsy Hall. The students are also becoming well adjusted to life at Roncalli. They already have some classes pinned as their favorites. “[My favorite class is] P.E. because you are always moving,” said Barazal Sanjuan. Not only are the students excelling in academic life at Roncalli, they are also planning on getting involved in extra-curricular activities. For example, Barazal Sanjuan is playing varsity soccer this year. Roncalli students have the opportunity to learn about other cultures, and the foreign exchange students hope to have a better understanding of the U.S. culture.
EXCHANGE STUDENTS: Juniors Carla Campos Ferrin, Manu Barazal Sanjuan, and Rike Scholze have come from all over to be a part of the Roncalli family. They all hope not only to improve their English this year, but also to have a great experience in the U.S.
PHOTO BY KRISTEN MCCARTHY
Roncalli Top News
Anthem Essay
AP Scholars
Picture Retakes
AP Scholar with Honor
Juniors Kim Merkel and David Page were recognized in the 2011 Ayn Raynd Institutes Anthem Essay Contest.
Six seniors have been named AP scholars: Haley Craig, Kate DeMoss, Amy Hemmelgarn, Rachel Law, Alyssa Loebig, and Jacob Saylor.
Picture retakes are scheduled to take place on Monday, September 26th.
Senior Bryan Rainey was named an AP Scholar with Honor for earning a 3 or higher or 4 AP exams in May.