By Matthew Quattrocchi ‘21

I’ve always been told four years of high school would go by in the blink of an eye, but I never fully realized the truth in that until now.

It felt like yesterday I pulled a maroon and orange shirt out of a bag to announce where I was going to high school, and well, now, I’m ready to graduate.

I remember freshman year orientation and the first day of school, walking into Brother Rice with the band blasting maroon and orange into my ears and taking a seat on the bleachers.

That first day I was told to “get involved,” and well, I guess I really put that advice to use. It’s weird, but being a senior now, I would probably tell underclassmen to get involved now if anything.

From that first day on, it didn’t take me long to fall in love with the Brother Rice culture: the Crusader Crazies, homecoming weeks, interwoven brotherhood, endless comradery, and my involvement in the school made me proud, truly proud to be a Crusader.

I played basketball and soccer freshman year, but I ended up running more than I thought I would in my entire life running cross country and track.

I truly started to find a passion for the things I was involved in around Rice and outside of school. I started to involve myself in as much service and leadership as possible around Queen of Martyrs Youth Ministry and through Rice.

Edmund Rice Camp, C.R.H.P, Kairos, and the Harlan Kentucky mission trip ended up being some of the most rewarding and memorable experiences in my life.

Although it’s great to look at the big picture of high school, I came to appreciate Rice for the little things; my high school experience simply wouldn’t be the same without cookies in the morning, familiar hellos in the hallway, and the comradery of going to an all boys school.

High school may feel like one big and swift blur in the moment, but I’ve had countless amazing memories with my time at Rice: homecoming moshpits, beating Marist in the state semi-final, and even Coach Gleeson roasting a kid for forgetting his gym shoes.

Although I feel like I’ve made the most of my four years and continue to grow, I guess maybe I’ve taken my time at Rice for granted.

In the middle of senior year and the week before finals, high school may just feel like a cluster of assignments, practice after school, and a club meeting in the morning, but I’ve come to realize it’s so much more than that.

High school is about growing, developing, forming lifelong friendships, trying new things, making the mistakes necessary to succeed in the future, to learn, to grow up a bit, to enjoy what you have, and to discover what drives you as a person.

It’s crazy to think I will be graduating soon; maybe I still don’t even feel like a senior still, but if I know anything about Brother Rice, it’s that it’s prepared me to be the person I strive to be in the future.

So as a senior, I would say: get involved, enjoy the little things, try something new, don’t grow up too fast, make lifelong friendships, be yourself, and find your drive.

I will be heading off to Marquette next year as a business major, ready to take the next step, but I will never forget my second home at Brother Rice.

I guess my time as a Brother Rice student is coming to a close, and it gives me chills just thinking about it, but I now truly understand the importance and value of “WE. ARE. BR!”

Go Crusaders!