Student Story Spotlight: I Learned from the Best

For Brian Hand, Class of ’18 and US Naval Academy graduate, the most important lessons he learned at York Catholic weren’t taught from a textbook or a lecture. They came through examples set by his teachers, classmates, and the YC community. Check out Brian’s reflections on how York Catholic shaped his values and inspired him to carry lessons of service, gratitude, and family into life beyond YC.

“York Catholic taught me the importance of service.  YC taught me what it means to give back.  This lesson wasn’t taught from a textbook or a lecture, nor was I asked on the SAT what service means.  Rather, it was through example that I acquired the value of service.   I watched teachers ensure that lessons were well prepared, and I watched teachers extend extra help sessions before and after school.  I watched retired faculty members come back to fill in as substitute teachers, cafeteria volunteers, and study hall proctors.  It was through YC’s model of service that I have been inspired to give back to my school, my community, and my country.

York Catholic taught me gratitude.  I was grateful for caring teachers, a safe place to go every day, and for the numerous opportunities York Catholic offered me.  While at YC, I played varsity sports, served on student council, competed in regional mock trial competitions, and even sang and danced a little on the auditorium stage.  We didn’t have the newest tech or an Olympic-sized swimming pool, but we learned to have heart, and a dedication to excellence.  I knew gratitude for the things YC offered, and you can’t put a price tag on that kind of an education.

York Catholic reinforced the importance of family.  It’s the student body raising money to support pediatric cancer awareness. It’s gathering as a school for a prayer service amidst the tragedies which plaster the evening news daily.  It’s seeing the people you work with or go to school with not only as your peers, but as your neighbors.  It’s the reason I get so excited to tell others about my school.

I’ve learned that only at YC will you see one of the biggest guys on the football team stop in the middle of the hallway to help a seventh grader pick up a dropped book.  Only at YC do students graduate as family. And it’s only at YC where I would’ve wanted to spend these past four years of high school.

I learned from the best, and I know that I carry life’s greater lessons with me wherever I go – the value of service, gratitude, and family.  Those too I learned from the best.”