Carina Huerta ~ My Senior Story
As the end of my senior year came to an abrupt end, I did not anticipate preparing myself to reflect on my past four years at Trinity so early as I believed I had more to experience before I could finally look back.
One of my first memories from Trinity was getting my first lock for my locker. I had been practicing on how to open it. However, on my first day of school with the whole student body, I could not open it. I was too afraid to ask my senior locker neighbor for help, but she immediately noticed my struggle and offered to help. From that day forward, she became my mentor. This first interaction with an upperclassmen made me realize how different Trinity was from how a typical high school is portrayed; Trinity is the epitome of what a sisterhood is. My sophomore year, I decided to try out for the cross country team; the day of tryouts, the longtime members of the team told us that the team was like a family because we had dinners together and we supported one another during every race and practice. I found this to be extremely true; cross country gave me a sense of community that I looked forward to everyday, even at our 7am runs!
In the process of continuing to embody Trinity’s mission of guiding and inspiring all, earlier this year, an underclassman friend of mine encouraged me to compete for the school’s Poetry Out Loud competition. To my surprise, I was chosen to represent Trinity at the Regional Level. This was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had and to think I never would have tried out had Trinity not shown me how to be a confident, courageous woman.
Before coming to Trinity, I would describe myself as a shy, quiet person who would never step out of her comfort zone. Fast forward four years and I will tell you that presently, I am a confident woman who is not afraid to speak up and try new things. As a full IB student, I feel that I have been well prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead for me. While I know that my future in engineering may be challenging, I know that I will be empowered to continue being the confident leader that Trinity has shaped me into.
One of my first memories from Trinity was getting my first lock for my locker. I had been practicing on how to open it. However, on my first day of school with the whole student body, I could not open it. I was too afraid to ask my senior locker neighbor for help, but she immediately noticed my struggle and offered to help. From that day forward, she became my mentor. This first interaction with an upperclassmen made me realize how different Trinity was from how a typical high school is portrayed; Trinity is the epitome of what a sisterhood is. My sophomore year, I decided to try out for the cross country team; the day of tryouts, the longtime members of the team told us that the team was like a family because we had dinners together and we supported one another during every race and practice. I found this to be extremely true; cross country gave me a sense of community that I looked forward to everyday, even at our 7am runs!
In the process of continuing to embody Trinity’s mission of guiding and inspiring all, earlier this year, an underclassman friend of mine encouraged me to compete for the school’s Poetry Out Loud competition. To my surprise, I was chosen to represent Trinity at the Regional Level. This was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had and to think I never would have tried out had Trinity not shown me how to be a confident, courageous woman.
Before coming to Trinity, I would describe myself as a shy, quiet person who would never step out of her comfort zone. Fast forward four years and I will tell you that presently, I am a confident woman who is not afraid to speak up and try new things. As a full IB student, I feel that I have been well prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead for me. While I know that my future in engineering may be challenging, I know that I will be empowered to continue being the confident leader that Trinity has shaped me into.
Trinity has challenged me in various ways. They’ve introduced me to some of the most AWESOME people, as Sister Michelle would say, and given me the tools needed to be anyone I want to be. I am thankful to Trinity High School for giving me the best education and experiences. Lastly, I am grateful to Trinity for giving me a family that made saying goodbye so difficult.
Carina I. Huerta, University of Illinois at Chicago; Bioengineering
St. Daniel the Prophet School, Chicago
St. Daniel the Prophet School, Chicago
