My time at St. John’s was interesting in a beautiful way. I spent about four and a half years attending the school which was enough time to bring out every emotion possible. Being a youngster, I kept my mouth shut and my grades up, which was all I needed to do to succeed. Towards the end of my freshmen year, I decided I didn’t want to return to school [SJMS] and go home to live a “normal” life, boy was that dumb! I found myself back at St. John’s after five months of public school. I very vividly remember my drive from Golden, Colorado to Salina, Kansas with Mr. Browning. As nervous as I was, I knew I was going back to a place I once called home, and where I finished my high school career.
A couple of things I got in trouble for were. . . failing a few drug tests, staying out late on pass (not by accident), talking on the phone past taps, skipping chapel, and more very common actions. I was contemplating writing the specifics of the things I did and didn’t get caught, but I think we’re all better off if those don’t come up. One thing, specifically, I got in trouble for was writing a poem in Mrs. Lilly’s English class on the topic of Hawaiian Punch. To this day I still swear that I didn’t know it was a strain of marijuana and was writing about the deliciousness of the fruit punch. With my track record, I understand why the staff believed I was writing about weed (MAJ, you asked me to tell you down the road, after graduation, what I was referring to in that writing).
My fondest memory of the school was playing football in my senior year. The people we played with and that made it amazing. Another few great memories I have are commencement, parent’s weekends, AFIs, formations about who pooped in a locker, chiefs’ classes, every other class, and the list can go on forever.
St. John’s is a huge part of my life and will always be. I thought about name-dropping so many people in this writing. . . I thank everyone for being a part of my time at St. John’s even if some times were negative, I wouldn’t be the man I am today without all of you. —Connor Dempsey 2013