Meet Olivia

Olivia graduated St. Francis de Sales High School this year with a long list of activities and accomplishments. During her tenure at St. Francis de Sales, Olivia has grown into an independent, self-motivated and driven young woman ready to tackle college.

Coming to St. Francis de Sales from Our Lady of Guadalupe was an eye-opener for Olivia.  The small Catholic school setting was familiar but the high school expectations were new.  Olivia took advantage of every opportunity provided:  

“During my four years at SFDS, I have been in numerous clubs including; Drama, Newspaper, Yearbook, S.T.A.R.S, Campus Ministry and NHS. I have done cheerleading and soccer, and I have also volunteered to help at open houses, clean the school, and orientations. I guess it would be safe to say that I live at SFDS because I spend more time at the school then at home”

Attending a Catholic school has made her a more responsible person and opened her eyes to volunteering and helping others and it prepared her for college.   Olivia has received over $115,000 in scholarships from numerous schools and has made the decision to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago in the fall. She will major in Psychology and minor in theater.  

As a culmination of her education, this year Olivia took the initiative to organize the Black History Month Expo.  Olivia approached all three social studies teachers and set up a meeting to create a black history month expo for each of our students to participate in. Olivia explained that in the past, the school hosted an expo during lunch but that hadn’t last year. She explained that the project was very special to her and she truly enjoyed working on the assignment. She collaborated with some of her classmates and got some ideas and feedback prior to approaching the teachers and Principal Kimec.

Olivia spearheaded the entire operation. She had a vision and made it a reality. “We as teachers are so proud of Olivia for being so proactive about a topic that is important to her. She knows that this is more school work to do, but she truly wants to learn and become inspired by this project. Her initiative has inspired me to ‘up my game’ as a teacher, and all three of us as teachers are just awe-struck by how hard she is working to make this expo a reality” Said Kristi Rodenbeck Social Studies Teacher.

We are proud of Olivia. As her sister enters her 8th grade year and begins to look at high schools, Olivia will encourage her to attend St. Francis de Sales because it has given her a good start in life and Olivia believes it can do the same thing for her sister.