Freshman Survival Guide by Class of ’25

The transition from eighth grade to freshman year is is undoubtedly an enormous and often overwhelming experience. Leaving a small, tight-knit middle school for the vast halls of St. X is a momentous change of pace. Who better to give advice on the subject than the freshman class of ’25, who just made it through this exact experience.

Their advice is as follows:

Semaj King – “The classes are harder, the teachers are stricter, and making friends isn’t as easy as it seems, but you are entering a brotherhood, and this brotherhood is nothing less than amazing. You will have to claw and push for everything you want. If you’re playing a sport, you will have to sacrifice a lot, but it will be worth it in the end.”

Micheal Curry – “Always have a pencil, folders, a notebook, and always come to school with your iPad on 100%. Just remember if you have Coach Klein, never respond with “yeah,” or you will have to do five push-ups. Balancing everything is a struggle for the first couple of weeks, but you will get the hang of it.”

Tyce Flaker – “Be outgoing, happy, and meet new people and you will quickly learn what this brotherhood is about. The teachers are amazing at St. X, and whenever you need anything or that little extra help they will be there for you. Expectations are high, and you will quickly realize how much you will change from a boy to a man. Make it the best four years you can, realize who you are, and be yourself.”

Brad Cundiff – “A great way to help make friends if you don’t have many coming to St. X is getting involved in sports or clubs. You will hear the teachers say it 100 times, but it is true. I played freshman football and kids I never knew before the end of my 8th grade year I was best friends with at the start of it.”

Brayden McCarty – “I took study hall the first semester of my freshman year. I feel like it helped me a lot while I got used to how much homework they give. It is not an unreasonable amount, but it is definitely a lot.”

Joseph Kelty – “The first thing you want to do is learn where all of your classes are because the sophomores, juniors, and seniors mostly know where theirs are, and they don’t want to have to wait for you to move out of the hallway so they can get to their classes. Wherever you sit on the first day of lunch is basically your assigned lunch spot.”

Owen Talbert – “Every teacher is very nice and wants you to do well. I haven’t had an unpleasant experience with a teacher since I’ve been here. However, you don’t want to get on their bad sides. If you don’t already know, there’s something called a JUG (justice under god). To serve a JUG, you stand and stare at a wall fore either 30 minutes or up to an hour depending on the rule you broke. It’s not fun…”

Scott Kreilein – “Good advice I have for the incoming freshmen is the lunch line isn’t just one line. There are multiple, and you should try and get to the line as early as possible if you don’t want to wait to eat. I expected it to be hard to make friends at first, but even if you’re not very social, people will find you.”

Christian McCloud – “Always complete your homework and turn it in on time. This will help you because most of your grades for your classes will be a large portion of homework. Another thing you need to know is to just sit down and pay attention in class.”

Sawyer Fritz – “My advice is to not worry and just relax. Your teachers know you may be nervous going to a new school, so they go as easy on you as they can to help you settle in. You’ll like different teachers for different reasons, others you’ll feel just get you.”