1. When did you graduate from MODG?

I graduated in Spring 2024 after doing MODG since I was in 2nd grade. So, most of my life I have been homeschooled and now, I am a freshman at Thomas Aquinas College.

2. Did your time in MODG help you prepare for college?
Yes. Definitely. Especially through all the high school years. It definitely helped me organize my schedule and figure out how to keep myself accountable for all the school work I need to be doing. I would say that a lot of the books that you read in MODG’s history and literature classes have a lot of overlap in what you read freshman year in your seminar, so it is really nice to have been kind of familiar with those works. The programs are very similar. I was always worried in the beginning that since I was homeschooled, it would be really hard to adjust going to classes full time and not being homeschooled anymore, but honestly it didn’t feel like that drastic of a change. It was pretty easy to transition to just doing my school work at home to having to go to classes every day.

3. Why did you choose to go to TAC?
I was considering a few different liberal arts colleges, like Wyoming Catholic College and Christendom College, because I really wanted a very strong Catholic community. I ultimately chose TAC just because it was the closest to my house, and the campus is really pretty. Also from going to the summer program. And, California has great weather, you can’t beat the weather.

4. How are you enjoying your time there?
So far, it has been amazing. Actually it turns out that college life is a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. It’s so much more chill then I was making it to be. Even though the school work can be really hard, it is really fun to balance it out with meeting a bunch of new people, being around your peers all the time, and then just the fun little ways to have fun around campus.

5. Other than your classes, how are you involved in campus life?
We attend an all school lecture so the entire school, or most of the school, is attending these lectures every few weeks on Friday nights. We also have these things called an all school seminar, and these happen once every semester. Another huge things is swing dances at TAC, there are so many dances. Then just around the gym we have a rock climbing wall. And people are just constantly planning random trips to the beach and things like that.

6. What are some fun things about being a college student?
Well, the freedom is really nice. In your free time it is really fun to come up with unique ways to have fun, either random off campus trips to the beach, which is fun, or random thrift shopping sprees. Getting together on Friday nights and watching a movie in the dorms is always super fun, but it is kind of nice to choose your own schedule and how you want to do things. Another huge thing is just getting to live with your peers all the time. It is kind of like having a sleepover, every night, pretty much.

7. What is it like living away from home and planning everything for yourself?
Well, it is definitely a change, but it actually is a very nice break, cause it is nice to have a space away from home, just kind of separate where you can do your thing. I think one of the hard parts is that there are so many fun activities that you can go and do with friends, and it is hard to say no sometimes when you have to study and so that is definitely a challenge sometimes. As the year goes on, you kind of just get better at navigating how much fun time you have and how much studying time you put in.

8. What have you done to manage your time between classes, studying, and social activities?
Well, to be honest, I am still working it out. Figuring out when you study best so you can be most efficient with your studying. And by figuring out when you work most efficiently you are able to get a lot of work done and then you can leave other times throughout the day, when you’re not going to be most efficient at studying, for free time or to go exercise or to play around. Another thing is just taking breaks and making them purposeful breaks, like going on walks and moving your body or laying down to rest. And not putting too much stress or super high expectations on yourself helps a lot as well.

9. What has been the most surprising part of your college experience so far?
Just getting to meet all these wonderful and amazing people and getting to hear their background story of how they ended up choosing the college and how they came to be at the place that they are at. It is really neat to see how everyone around you is like you and holds a lot of the same values that you do, and it is just really neat. Also, I feel like you are always used to seeing the same set of people, and they could be very good people, but it is also nice to be able to expand that a little bit and kind of see how many like-minded peers are truly out there in the world and just getting to know them well, is also really nice. And it has been super surprising that there can be so many good people that I haven’t met, and it is kind of a fun adventure getting to explore all the different communities around me.

10. Do you have any advice for seniors in high school discerning what college to go to?
You forget to take in the last moments that you are still home and living at home around the people that you are around. And it seems like sometimes you can be in a place where you are wishing it all away. But I would say, really cherish those moments at home and really cherish where you are. Just not to lose that excitement for college as well and just to know that it is all going to work out.