GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Andrean students can’t wait to spring into the homestretch of the school year

What’s recently happened? 

Another month has come and gone at Andrean High School (AHS), and the school year is inching closer to its end. The spring brings light back to the building and helps get students excited for summer. 

On March 1, the Boys Basketball team held its Senior Night. All of the hardworking senior players, managers, and cheerleaders were recognized for their dedication to AHS. During this hard-fought game, Senior Paul Gilvydis made his 1,000th career shot. 

The beginning of March was a very exciting time for a lot of the senior students and a few juniors. Select students were given the opportunity to attend the Kairos retreat. Kairos is a religious retreat that upperclassmen are encouraged to attend. The students spent time with each other and with the Lord, strengthening relationships all around. 

Students started off the season of Lent with an Ash Wednesday school mass. Mass is a time that students really get to hone in on the religious values they are taught at AHS. Being that AHS is a Catholic school, March and April are a time of reverence and self-reflection as students prepare for Easter.  

Students are given multiple prayer times a week, different opportunities to serve, and have even begun prayer groups during this season. 

In the last week of March, AHS was on its Spring Break. Given a few days off to relax, students spent time with friends, family, and travelling across the globe. 

Every year, AHS organizes a Spring Break trip for students. This year, students were given the opportunity to travel to Ireland. The students who chose to take this school trip were able to see the beautiful countryside, many different attractions, and historical sites.

For current and future students, if given the opportunity to take an AHS Spring Break trip, take it. There have been nothing but great reviews for the program, and students are able to see parts of the world they haven’t had the chance to see before. 

With the Easter season coming, the AHS Easter Young Adults Really Care (YARC) party was held on April 5. YARC is a group at AHS that puts on seasonal parties for community members with disabilities. It is a time for people of all walks of life to come together and celebrate the holidays. 

The Easter party had snacks, games, prizes, easter baskets, and a special guest: the Easter Bunny.

Not only did the partygoers have a blast, the students did, too. Everyone is in high spirits as they celebrate the Salvation from the Lord.  

What’s coming up? 

As AHS is in the home stretch of the 2024-2025 school year, the next month and a half will be packed with events. 

One very exciting event that is approaching is Prom. Prom will be held on April 24. Upperclassmen will be given the chance to have one final dance together. 

The beginning of April also marks the beginning of AHS spring sports. Some sports, like track, have already begun, but sports like baseball, softball, and tennis will start in April. AHS students are so excited to go and support their peers at their games in the nice spring weather. 

Another upcoming event that will be held on April 12 is Trivia Night. It will be held in the school cafeteria and is a 21+ event. The theme of this year's event is “Music!” Get your tickets by April 10. More information on the event and registration can be found on the AHS official Instagram page. 

The beginning of May also brings a very important annual event at AHS: the 5/9 Day of Giving.  On May 9, AHS is hoping to raise $65,000 in 24 hours to support all current and future students. There will be multiple challenges posted throughout the day on the AHS Instagram page as well. AHS asks for support in this event as it helps to set up students for a successful future and education at AHS. Information on how to register and early donations can be found on the Instagram page as well. 

May will be jam-packed as the school year comes to an end with events like Armaggedon – a school-wide favorite tradition – Senior Banquet, Senior Breakfast, and graduation. 

Of course, the end of May will be a time of extreme focus as students prepare to take AP and final exams. Students will balance their fun and anticipation for summer with one last academic challenge before summer break. 

Staff spotlight:

Bridgette Ruehl, better known by students as Miss B, is one of the art teachers at AHS. She teaches Ceramics I, II, and III, Drawing I and II, and Painting II. 

Ruehl has been teaching for five years after getting her degree at Ball State University. 

Before becoming a teacher, Ruehl aspired to be an artist, hence her incredible artistic skill and natural teaching ability. She shows her passion for art through the unique projects she has the students do and the skills she is passing to all of her students.  

Prior to teaching at AHS, Ruehl was the swim coach at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. Ruehl swam competitively at the collegiate level for many years, so a coaching position was perfect for her. 

Ruehl loves teaching her drawing classes because her own personal favorite medium is drawing. This is apparent the minute one steps foot in her classroom due to all the creative and unique drawing she has displayed around the room.  

“My favorite part of AHS has to be the students,” Ruehl said.

Her all-time favorite tradition is Armageddon.

Ruehl wants to remind students that the best is yet to come. 

“While high school may have its ups and downs, some of the best times of my life were spent after high school,” she said. “You can’t focus only on what is going on right now.”

Student spotlight:  

Alesi Rodriguez is a senior at AHS. She has attended AHS all four years of high school, and during her time, Rodriguez has been very involved in her school community. 

On Rodriguez’s journey to coming to AHS, she was influenced by her older brother who also attended the school. She felt like he had a positive experience at AHS, so she wanted to experience it for herself. She also wanted to go to a school that not only allowed her to practice her faith but encouraged it. She had come from a Catholic middle school, so the transition from middle to high school was familiar for her.

At the beginning of Rodriguez’s time at AHS, she participated in basketball, cross country, and track. She was doing track to stay in shape for basketball, but she ended up loving track so much that she quit basketball this year to focus entirely on track and cross country. 

Rodriguez is the senior leader this year for the track team and also serves as a leader on her relay teams. 

Rodriguez has earned a scholarship for track at Saint Xavier University in Chicago. She will be a hurdler for the 400m women's collegiate hurdles. While she is at Saint Xavier, she plans to major in digital marketing and minor in criminal justice. She wants to use her college degree to find a career where she can help other people. She wants to be able to leave work everyday and know that she helped someone that day. 

As Rodriguez prepares to leave AHS, she has been reflecting on her favorite part of the school: the people. She came to AHS with her best friends and will be leaving with those same friends plus many new ones. 

“Andrean has truly been an unforgettable experience and I’m grateful for that,” Rodriguez said. 

She believes that the hardest part about leaving AHS will be leaving the community of faith behind. 

“I feel that it’s easy and encouraged to express who you are here and to practice your faith with the people around you. I don’t want to leave that behind,” she said. 

Rodriguez is a wonderful friend to all and will be missed at AHS.