One of the reasons I became interested in Oratory Prep was my older brother, Sam. He attended OP from seventh grade all the way to twelfth. He graduated in 2013 and I intend to follow in his footsteps by graduating this upcoming spring. Sam is currently a junior at Marist College, and earlier this week I was able to ask him about his time at OP and how life has been since he moved on to college.

I was grateful to know that college life has done nothing but improve Sam’s personality and change him for the better in general. When asked about how life at Marist is, Sam aptly described life as “dope.” He has consistently gone to the gym and has improved his physicality and health ever since his freshman year, and he’s setting PRs at the gym every other month. When asked how OP prepared him for college, Sam replied that OP taught him how to think productively and manage his time (the latter I’m a little doubtful of because he spent many nights plastered to his computer screen gaming, but his grades have miraculously never been poor).

When asked about his time at OP, Sam responded with a mixture of nostalgia and bizarre sagacity. He missed the camaraderie of Oratory, which coincidentally was his favorite part about attending OP. However, he was quick to reassure me that he has formed strong bonds at Marist. Recalling some of his classes and teachers, Sam said he missed the familiar faces he came to know over several years. I concluded our interview by asking Sam what advice he would give to the college-bound senior class. “Make intelligent bad choices” is what he said, explaining that it’s alright to get into a bit of trouble, but only if you do so knowing what you are doing or risking.

After our exchange and the several times he has come back home for school breaks, I can safely say that Sam has changed for the better – he has OP to primarily thank for that.