Another Home

(Prayer offered on the Public Address system for the entire La Salle Academy educational community on Friday morning, 15 May 2015, the Feast of our Founder, Saint John Baptist de La Salle)

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Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God.

san miguel school Growing up in South Providence and attending the San Miguel School, I never thought I would love another place as much as I loved San Miguel. The close community helped shape me into a young man with dreams and goals.

Coming to La Salle was a dream come true for my family, because La Salle is the best school in our state and it meant an excellent education for me and a way to college.

While it was an awesome opportunity for me, I was nervous to leave what I knew behind and come to 612 Academy Avenue. I have seen a lot in my life that has impacted me greatly and that made it difficult for me to reach out to others who I perceived weren’t like me. For three years, I spent most of my time here at La Salle with a new family that I was lucky to make in Academic Support. I grew comfortable and confident from their love and support of me and I loved coming to school to see them, both the kids and teachers.

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Sometimes though, I judged my peers that weren’t in my Academic Support family. I thought that they had it easier than me and I didn’t reach out to them or bother to get to know them. It was through a retreat experience during this year, that Mr. D encouraged me to go on, Kairos 16 that changed all that for me. I’m definitely not your typical retreat kid, but I took a chance and it changed my perceptions on everything.

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I finally became friends with a group of people that I will never forget. I met students from all corners of La Salle. I became friends with people I never would have met if I did not attend this retreat. I finally understood that La Salle was just like San Miguel; another home. A place I can always come back to. A place where I can be me. A place where I know love. I thank God every day for this opportunity. I still play basketball in my local community center. When the younger kids see me in my La Salle Uniform, it gives them hope for their futures, just the way I had hope for my future when I saw guys at San Miguel in their La Salle uniforms like Johan Molina, Omar Valerio, and Josh Rodriguez.

Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of La Salle in my life. Help me to continue to pay forward all that I have been given. Amen.

St. John Baptist de La Salle…Pray for us

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San Miguel …Pray for us

Live Jesus in our Hearts…Forever!

Orlando Reyes–Class of 2015