School is sometimes compared to a prison. With the thick cinder block walls, routine schedule, strict rules and dress code, it can be easy to fall for the stereotype. However, after being at St. Dominic for four years, I can say that St. Dominic has become home.

I entered high school terrified of the new authority figures. In grade school, I was always told my teachers wouldn’t care about my problems and they wouldn’t check up on me if I was falling behind. I quickly realized the teachers and administration at St. Dominic are nothing like the image my grade school painted for me.

As you walk into school every morning, Mr. Welby is outside to greet the students. As you walk through the halls you can always count on an energetic high five from Mr. Winkelmann. Mr. Struttmann is always walking around asking students how they’re doing. And you can catch the Streckers at a sporting event; they try to come to at least one game per sport. Those are just a few small moments from a day in the life of St. Dominic students.

Our teachers and administration are the people who really make this place feel like home. Not only do the teachers know all their students by name, administration does as well! Teachers are often times assumed to be uncaring of the personal lives of their students, but the St. Dominic staff once again proves the stereotype wrong.

I speak from experience when I say all the teachers at this school will always have your back, be a shoulder for you to cry on, and offer amazing advice. If you have not done so already, get to know your teachers. Develop relationships with them beyond the subject they teach and begin to appreciate everything they do for you. My teachers have taught me things that stretch far beyond the classroom; I would not trade those relationships and lessons for anything.