Annette Stabile _08.pdf - St. Catharine Academy

SAINT CATHARINE • A SISTERS OF MERCY ACADEMYAlumnae Profile SeriesQ&As with SCA Annette StabileAnnette Stabile Class of ’08She is currently a senior at FordhamUniversity’s Rose Hill campus. Ms.Stabile is a parishioner at Saint Clareof Assisi right here in the Bronxwhere she went to the affiliatedgrade school and graduated in 2004.When she is not engaged in the rigorof New York City’s Jesuit Universityshe loves to volunteer at her currentinternship at the Albert EinsteinCollege of Medicine’s PsychosocialOncology Program and interact withcancer survivors.Their inspiring and uplifting storieshave provided her with a newprofound appreciation for life andshe is very thankful for all that shehas learned from them. Whatfollows is Annette’s reflection on thevalue of a Mercy-centered educationat St. Catharine Academy.Q. You are well into your timeas a student at FordhamUniversity. Looking back, howwould you assess the value ofyour SCA experience?A. SCA is a great collegepreparatory school. I wasfortunate to be placed in thehonor’s program as a freshmanand was always encouraged todo my best and excel. I’ll neverforget my history class insophomore year when we werecontinuously assigneddocument based questions inwhich we had to analyzeintricate passages and writeessays. At the end of the year, itwas revealed that those passageshad been taken from a textbookintended for college students.That’s been typical of theeducation I received at SCA andI couldn’t be more grateful forthat type of preparation.Q. What did SCA provide thatgave you a competitive edgewhen you arrived at Rose Hill?A. When I arrived at RoseHill I had already obtained 12college credits from the six APcourses I took at SCA. I alsoranked 4 th in my graduatingclass and had a transcript fullof honors courses.I was fortunate enough to take.Furthermore, I was involved inmany of the diverse clubs SCAoffered and had demonstratedan exceptional commitment tocommunity service, which wasstrongly encouraged by SCA.Q. What could SCA havedone better to prepare you forcollege?A. To be honest, I haveabsolutely no complaints aboutthe college preparation SCA hasgiven me. However, I guess if Ihad to say something I wouldsuggest offering more APcourses.Fordham UniversitySt. Catharine Academy

Q. What is your major?A. I am in the process ofobtaining a double major inpsychology and sociology and aminor in philosophy.Q. Do you anticipate going tograduate school immediatelyafter completing your programat Fordham? Any thoughtsabout where you might attend?A. I am currently seeking toapply to Fordham and CityCollege’s masters program inMental Health Counseling. Iwould love to stay within theFordham community to obtainthis degree if given theopportunity.Q. Describe your long-termcareer and life goals. How didSCA help direct you in thisarea? Fordham University?A. As a freshman, the firstthing I loved about SCA wasthe very welcoming guidancecounselors. Their dedication tothe student body and theirunending help has remainedwith me through the years;hence, my desires to obtain adegree in counseling. One day, Iwould love to be a guidancecounselor at SCA and give backto the community that hasgiven me so much.Q. Were you to offer advice toa current SCA freshman, whatwould it be?A. Make the most ofeverything offered to you atSCA. Push yourself to excel inyour classes; your hard workwill pay off. Join clubs youwould never think of joining;the sense of community andfamily at SCA is unsurpassedand you will meet great people.Last but not least, your teachersare there to help you; get toknow them and they canprovide some of the best adviceyou will ever receive.“One day, I would love to bea guidance counselor at SCAand give back to the communitythat has given me so much.”Annette StabileQ. Same question, however,this time the advice is forcurrent juniors and seniors.What would change and why?A. Take AP courses. You willbe happy you did when you’rein college. Earning collegecredits means less money youwill have to spend on tuition.Also, challenge yourself to dothings you never dreamed of!No matter what, you can alwayscount on support and guidancefrom your friends and theamazing faculty and counselors.My four years at SCA were thebest four years of my life and I’dgive anything to have theopportunity to relive them.Q. You are a regular reader ofour Facebook page. What kindsof stories, information andphotographs would you like tosee more of? Less of?A. I love knowing what isgoing on in SCA so theFacebook page is a great way tokeep informed! I especially loveseeing photos of the facultymembers because I miss themso very much. There can neverbe enough pictures!Q. You have such an engagingpassion regarding SCA, did youhave other family membersattend the school?A. Sadly, none of my familymembers have attended SCA…yet! That’s about to changesince many of my youngerfamily members are close tohigh school age and I think I’veconvinced them all about SCA’soutstanding reputation.