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When considering the very best part of his years at Prep, Paul Pigliucci '26 says he appreciates all the people he’s met, opportunity to deepen himself as a human being, the way he’s been able to connect with the Jesuit ideal of the magis—the more. “Prep really promotes being involved in as many things as you can—not just for the experience, but to grow you as a person,” explains Paul, whose busy lineup of extracurricular activities demonstrates he’s taken this encouragement to heart.

Enrolling in guitar ensemble as a freshman was Paul’s doorway to his involvement at Prep. Soon he was recruited into the jazz band, the pit orchestra, and music ministry to play for the school Masses. He recently started a new job as the guitarist for the 9 a.m. Mass at a local parish through Prep connections—an opportunity to meld his love of music with his faith. 

In a particularly memorable homily at the Junior Ring Mass, one of the Jesuits reminded the students that in their school experience and in life, the things that you do to help other people will overshadow the fun that you have—a message that really stuck with Paul. But listening to Paul describe how much fun he and his friends have playing Bunko with physically and mentally disabled members from Team Woofgang & Co every Monday night goes to show that doing good and having fun aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive here.

While Paul is busy seizing every opportunity for growth that he can—from attending the Kairos retreat to serving on student council—he’s surrounded by adults in pursuit of the magis themselves. There’s the faculty moderator of the new mock trial team who shares his years of wisdom from his time as a practicing attorney… the Class of 2026’s dean of students, whom Paul describes as “a good force for the junior class” … the friendly Spanish teacher who serves as Paul’s advisor… or Paul’s college counselor, who first suggested that Paul use the profits from the business he’s launching to help support a good cause.

“If it weren’t for Prep and that commitment to being involved that Prep pushes,” Paul reflects, “I wouldn’t be nearly as fleshed out as a person. I wouldn’t have met any of these people I’ve become such good friends with. I wouldn’t be myself.”

In the fall of 2024, James ’25 took on an important new role for the Prep brotherhood: president of Prep’s senior class. As a freshman, leading a club— let alone the entire student body— wasn’t something James thinks would have crossed his mind. But with support from numerous adults on campus, James has grown both as a person and as a leader. The way Prep’s faculty and staff cultivate well-rounded individuals and encourage students to get involved in a variety of opportunities is one of the things James loves about the school.

As a member of student government, James has worked closely with the senior class’s dean of students, including on his speeches as class president. As one of the captains of the varsity rugby team, James is connected with the coaches who guide Prep’s young men as scholar-athletes. And through the encouragement of English teacher Brian Hoover, James helped launch two clubs that feed his passion for writing: the school newspaper Prep Pages and the Creative Writing Club. Hoover, who now moderates both clubs, has served as an invaluable mentor and played an instrumental role in helping James put together his writing portfolio for his college applications.

“At Prep, there’s a really big emphasis on growing true relationships as a mentor and a student with the teachers,” James explains. “I feel like the connections you can make with the teachers here is like no other. Every adult at Prep cares about the kids here and wants to make their experience the best possible.”

James and his friends are also deeply involved in the service opportunities Prep offers. “Prep makes it easy to be a man for others,” James observes. He sees the faculty as an important part of that equation. “Having a lot of alumni being part of the faculty, they really know what it means to be a man for others and what the brotherhood is. It’s impressive that after they leave Prep, they are open and want to come back.”

As a Magis merit scholar, summa cum laude student, and member of the National Honor Society, values the many tools and opportunities Prep gives its students to manage the stresses of high school life and care for the whole person—whether that means getting help from a teacher about a specific topic, growing spiritually on the Kairos retreat, finding extra support in the form of a tutor, or grabbing some candy in the social worker’s office when life has him bogged down.

"Prep has truly been the most influential four years of my life thus far. This school has given me so much, not only in academics, but in values and in relationships,” says James.

A member of the second cohort of Magis merit scholarship recipients to attend Prep, Rudy ’26 can already look back and see the tremendous ways he’s grown since he applied to Prep as an 8^th grader. “They really build you up as a young man to be the man you need to be, to go out into the world and to make an impact,” he reflects. “They’re setting us up for so much more.”

For Rudy, the biggest adjustment to Prep was really a matter of time management—balancing sports practices with the increased workload that comes with all of his honors classes. At Prep, Rudy has gotten involved in everything he can: football, basketball, robotics club, guitar ensemble and band, math team, student government, and the African American cultural club. “There’s so many ways to get involved. I’ve been taking advantage of that,” says Rudy, who also appreciates the time to reset that Prep’s Wellness Wednesdays offer.

As a summa cum laude student, Rudy’s also eager to seize the academic opportunities before him and has met regularly with his school and college counselors to figure out the path ahead. In Rudy’s freshman year, his school counselor Lynne Chesbro helped him pursue his love of math and achieve his goal of moving up a level in the math sequence. By taking a summer geometry course at Prep, Rudy was able to start sophomore year in Algebra II.  “We have a really good connection,” Rudy says of Chesbro.

Beyond the Prep’s teachers, couches, and counselors, Rudy knows there’s a whole host of adults across campus he can turn to if he should ever need them -- the tutors in the Boughton Academic Center and Library where Rudy likes to study independently...the director of academic support who once offered Rudy some study tips for a Spanish quiz...the director of diversity and community engagement, whose office Rudy visits frequently.

Rudy’s most transformational moment of his Prep journey so far was his service immersion experience in Florida through Urban Plunge with brother school Belen Jesuit in Miami. One of the trip’s activities included an ecological excursion to the Everglades in which students practiced seeing God in all things, including a two-minute exercise in silence in the swamp. “I think that was the most magical experience I’ve ever had,” he recalls.

During his time at Prep, Rudy quickly discovered the secret of one of Prep’s most enduring effects on a young man’s life—the brotherhood doesn’t end after four years. “The connections you build at Prep, I already know they will last a lifetime,” Rudy concludes.