A LAUNCH, NOT A LANDING HOW CATHEDRAL PREPARES BOYS FOR WHAT COMES NEXT HABITS OF LEADERSHIP
by Kristen Vilhauer, High School Counselor
PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME, “How do you get eighth-grade boys to write essays about who they are?” The honest answer is: we don’t start in eighth grade.
By the time our students reach the high school application process, they’ve already spent years learning how to reflect, communicate, and advocate for themselves. They’ve given Chapel Talks. They’ve revised stories in English class. They’ve practiced public
speaking, written thank-you notes, and introduced themselves to guest speakers. So when it’s time to write about what matters to them, what kind of community they want, what kind of learner they are, and what they hope for in the next chapter, it’s not a stretch. It’s a continuation. That’s the beauty of our process. It starts long before the applications begin. At Cathedral School for Boys, high school counseling begins formally in the spring of Grade 7. That’s when I meet with each boy and his family to get to know them better, to learn about their priorities, their dreams, and their daily lives. In the fall of Grade 8, boys attend High School Counseling class every other week. They build a school list, prepare for interviews, write essays, and ask all kinds of questions. They meet with me one-on-one and are always welcome in my office. Just as important as the logistics is the self-discovery that happens along the way. My goal isn’t just to help boys find a school where they’ll thrive. We do that, and our placement results are exceptional. My goal is also to help them deepen their understanding of who they are. To see themselves clearly. To name their values. To speak for themselves,
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CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
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