Growing up presents many challenges. World conflicts coupled with rapid and sometimes inaccurate dissemination of news can often yield doubt, confusion, and the diminishment of hope especially for our students. Within our 12 Catholic schools these emotions are often present for our students, however, given the supportive coalition of people that surround our students these emotions and behaviors can be discussed so that they are not happening in isolation, but rather in a supportive and loving environment. The supporters come from within our schools, our churches, and the greater community. It is because of this that our students continue to flourish.

Our clergy, principals, teachers, staff, parents, grandparents, and many others from within our Catholic school learning community help keep our students feeling positive and hopeful. When our students feel supported by this large coalition of supporters, they are able to move through encounters with much more confidence. Our students witness acts of kindness and empathy from people that surround them, and that modeling of behavior is indicative of the mission of our Catholic faith.

During the covid-19 pandemic, many schools’ social gatherings were canceled. Many of these gatherings were important to our students and cancelling them was disappointing and hard to comprehend. The strong relationships that were established coupled with faith and perseverance kept things positive and further built up a level of personal resiliency that will endure for years.

A favorite event of many is Grandparents day, a day when grandparents come and spend time with their grandchildren at school. They attend Mass together and the grandparents shadow the students classes. This establishes a deeper understanding of what it’s like in school and builds on the development of relationships and trust. This embodies openness and trust between the student and caring relatives.

When I visit our schools around the state, I often have a chance to attend Mass or other school activities. I always notice the older students mentoring the younger students. I see pride, honor, and self-confidence from the older students and a sense of honor, happiness, and joy from the younger students. It supports student maturity and trust for the older student and admiration and vision for the younger students. What a delight it is to witness this.

Establishing a trusting relationship is essential to providing support for all the students we serve. The outcome of a positive relationship builds trust and
helps overcome emotional stressors and sometimes the feeling of isolation. Hope fuels our passion and helps
us to endure hard times and rejoice in the times of plenty. There may be many obstacles along our paths to
accomplishment. For every planned noble action, there are challenges along the way. Many things happen in this world that can be discouraging to us. Hope is the anchor of our souls. I believe that within our Catholic schools’ opportunities exists to practice our faith and to exercise perseverance as students are equipped with the tools to go forth and do good things.

Faith, trust, relationships, and perseverance are the foundational building blocks for life.

— Written by David Young. Originally published in the Spring 2025 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.