Former student Ana Macken ’24 (pictured in the center above) recently gave an account of her time at Donahue Academy and how this has transformed her as a person. Below, she describes her experience.
“I came from a good, Catholic school in Wisconsin, where I had a wonderful childhood- I wouldn’t trade it for the world. However, as I grew older, I noticed I was different from my classmates. It was just little bits here and there at first, but once I hit my freshman year of high school, the whole picture came together.
One day I looked around the room and I realized, I had no true friendships in school. Outside of school, I was good friends with a homeschool family who were like my siblings, but within the realm of my school, friendship like that was nonexistent. The Lord opened many doors for my family to move down to Ave Maria for various reasons, but each reason had one common denominator: my family wanted something true. For myself, this door leading to truth led to Donahue.
I came to Donahue my sophomore year. At Donahue I met my friends, who welcomed me with open arms, literally! I still remember Daniela, my classmate, on the first day of school popped up with her arms wide open to introduce herself. I don’t think I will ever forget the feeling I came home from that first day of school, and I told my parents I had found my people. I had found people who lived authentically, who knew the goodness of God and couldn’t help but share it with me! The small classes were an enormous gift. I was able to know my classmates and my teachers so well. I will say, the biggest impact on my life was my peers. There is such a thing as good peer pressure, I soon learned.
My peers taught me how to live for Christ, and the amazing thing is, they had no idea they were teaching me this. But what made my peers such a positive influence? Our teachers. The domino effect is a powerful one. Each student knew that each teacher cared so deeply for each of them. So, in turn, each student wasn’t afraid to live as their authentic selves. Along with authenticity, Donahue taught me how to be a good leader, the first lesson being a good leader is the first to serve.
Opportunities like sports, Shakespeare, soup kitchen work, and Senior leadership events all aided me to get out of my comfort zone and help others. This is something that I will be able to take with me for the rest of my life. Another enormously impactful gift Donahue has given my classmates, and me is the Rome Pilgrimage. My classmates and I often reminisce about our experience, always remarking that it was the “best two weeks of our lives.” This not only nourished our spiritual life, but also our physical life, showing us the richness of our beautiful faith- a common theme in Donahue. The Lord has a wonderful plan for each student in Donahue. For me, I had gone from hardly any friendships, to being planted in friendships rooted in and surrounded by beauty, truth, and goodness in Donahue.”
We’ve caught up with Ana to find out how life as a freshman at Ave Maria University is going and here is what she had to say:
“AMU has been treating me very well. The professors and students are so welcoming! I would say that Donahue has prepared me well for college by teaching me the importance of good time management.
There are so many different, amazing things to do on campus, but I still have my studies, so learning to incorporate a good balance of study, play, and prayer has been a big part of my college life!”
Ana, we’re rooting for you and hope your college experience gets better and better!
