Montgomery Catholic Senior Allie Berg Top Ten Finalist in Montgomery's Distinguished Young Women Scholarship Program

Montgomery Catholic senior Allie Berg recently finished as a top ten finalist in Montgomery's Distinguished Young Women scholarship program. Distinguished Young Women (DYW) is a nationwide non-profit scholarship program for high school senior girls with local/regional competitions. The girls become eligible in the summer preceding their senior year. The program offers scholarship money and provides the girls with the necessary skills for college: public speaking, interviewing, and self-confidence.

To become a finalist, Berg had to compete in five different categories: talent, fitness, self-expression, interview, and scholarship. Allie felt both excited and prepared for the categories of fitness and ta
lent. The fitness category entails a routine in which the girls demonstrate their athletic ability by performing multiple physical components. She described this as being her favorite category because she enjoyed learning the routine with the other girls. For her talent portion, Berg performed a dance routine. Having danced from a young age, she stood out amongst her competitors. She explained that the participants practiced three hours a week and put in two additional hours of practice outside of that time to perfect her routines.

Allie explained that she first advanced past the preliminary round, which consisted of two shows in one day in the above categories. This round also included the interview portion in which the judges could hone in on who they thought should advance. After these rounds, the judges selected 10 participants to advance to the final round. For the final round, contestants repeated each category of the competition, and the judges decided the top three participants. Berg credits her place in the final round to skills she has gained from Montgomery Catholic. Allie explains that public speaking skills learned from the MCPS debate team and Youth in Government events strongly influenced the competition's self-expression portion. She also explained that the ethics and morals Montgomery Catholic instilled in her were helpful during her interview portion.

Berg was thankful for the opportunity and enjoyed meeting other girls from around the Montgomery area. She felt it was a great way to challenge herself and step outside of her comfort zone. Distinguished Young Women provides unique opportunities for young women to capitalize on essential capabilities and gain leadership skills that will help them in the future. Berg would recommend the event to any girl her age!

Allie is the daughter of Chris and Sarah Berg of Montgomery, Alabama.

Founded in 1873, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is an integral part of the Catholic Church's mission to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. As an adult community, we share the responsibility to prepare students for college and beyond while helping them grow to become persons of faith, virtue, and wisdom.

Catholic Senior Grant Smith Has a Bright Future in Golf

Montgomery Catholic golfer Grant Smith has recently made great strides within his sport. These strides include taking multiple victories in Alabama tournaments and committing to play Division 1 golf at Louisiana Tech University. Smith started playing at two years old and hasn't put the clubs down since. He explains that his dad got him into the sport and continues to be a big motivator within his golf endeavors. Smith explains that he practices six times a week, and his day is not complete without being on the course. Having played on MCPS's team since 7th grade, Smith has not lost passion for the sport and is a significant asset to the team.

His hard work and practice have paid off. Smith has taken first place in four tournaments within this year alone. Continuing a family legacy, Smith beat out 56 other participants in the Dixie Junior Invitational in Selma, Alabama, with an ending score of five-under-par. His brother, Drew Smith (MCPS Class of 2019) won the same tournament just two years ago.  Before this, he earned first place in the Prattville Invitational, which had around 120 participants. Grant also beat all of his opponents in this year's Blue-Gray tournament, which had about 130 participants. He even managed first place in the 2020 Red Devil invitational in Phenix City, which had around 80 participants.

Grant has also recently committed to play golf for Louisiana Tech University. Louisiana Tech is located in Ruston, Louisiana. He states that "the facilities they have are awesome," and "the coach is a great guy." Smith's consistency and improvement these past two years drew the Louisiana Tech coach to him. Smith says that it has been his dream to play golf at a Division 1 school, and he is thankful that his dream is coming to life. Some goals Smith has for the future include being the Conference USA Freshmen of the Year when he attends Louisiana Tech.

Smith stated that his favorite thing about golf is the fact that it is an individual sport. When he slips up, he has "only [himself] to blame." He explains he enjoys being able to work on self-improvement within the game continually. Smith has aspirations to play professional golf and continues to work to improve every day. He is excited to play at the collegiate level in the fall and challenge himself against the athlete's caliber. He is even more excited to finish out his season at Montgomery Catholic.

Founded in 1873, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is an integral part of the Catholic Church's mission to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. As an adult community, we share the responsibility to prepare students for college and beyond while helping them grow to become persons of faith, virtue, and wisdom.

Montgomery Catholic St. Bede Campus Selects 2020-2021 Student Council

Montgomery Catholic is pleased to announce the St. Bede Elementary Campus Student Council for the 2020-2021 school year.

Campaigning was done, speeches were given, and the 2020 election was held.

Pictured are the Executive Student Council members Secretary, Frances Bach; Treasurer, Maggie Holmes; President, Madelyn Stringer; Chaplain, Samantha Berg; and Vice President, Erin McKenny.

They are joined by class representatives: Cate Noell, David Proffitt, Brady Cox, Frances Ann Rogers, John Baker, Sophia Collett, Rachel Stringer, MacKayla Natalini, and Olivia Harbin.

The Student Council will help Principal Laurie Gulley on campus with student life, service projects and safety on campus. Congratulations to these student leaders and all of the students who participated in the election this year.

Montgomery Catholic Homecoming 2020

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School celebrated Homecoming week October 5-9. The Homecoming game and festivities were pushed up a day due to stormy weather expected Friday from Hurricane Delta.  During half-time of the varsity football game vs. Childersburg, Montgomery Catholic Principal Eileen Aaron had the distinct honor of crowning the 2020 Homecoming Queen and King, Miss Alanna Monche’ Aiken and Mr. Myles Thomas Butler.

Photo credit: Total Image

The 2020 Montgomery Catholic Homecoming Court, pictured from left to right: Freshman attendant Lily Kathryn Coulombe escorted by Caleb Shamar McCreary; Junior attendant Aniya Lowery escorted by Christopher Benjamin Lathram; Senior attendant Allison Carol Berg escorted by Hollis Eugene Johnson V; Senior attendant Rachel Ann Rodriguez escorted by Kolbe Joseph Russo; Homecoming Queen and King Alanna Monche’ Aiken & Myles Thomas Butler; Senior attendant Alexis Morgan Meshok escorted by William Austin Cleghorn; and Sophomore attendant Kayleigh Grace Everage escorted by William Michael Belsterling.

While COVID-19 put class reunions and the traditional Alumni Under the Tent event on hold in 2020, Montgomery Catholic held a virtual "Wish You Were Here" event, encouraging all alumni classes to share their Homecoming and school day memories with friends on social media. 

The week leading up to the Homecoming football game was full of activities and excitement, including themed spirit days and Mass on the Grass on the football field. On Wednesday, the elementary Squire Walk was held at each campus. Students from the St. Bede and Holy Spirit campuses would traditionally be invited to run through the Catholic inflatable helmet to greet the Big Knights varsity football team as they took the field before the Homecoming Game. This year, with limited ticketing for home football games, Montgomery Catholic Varsity Football Coach, Aubrey Blackwell and School President, Justin Castanza loaded the helmet up and delivered it to each campus for the little Knights to continue the tradition.

The Middle and High School campus ended the day on Thursday with a socially distanced pep-rally on the football field to pump up the school spirit, and a shut-out victory over Childersberg, 42-0 made for a great end to Homecoming 2020. 

Founded in 1873, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is an integral part of the Catholic Church's mission to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. As an adult community, we share in the responsibility to prepare students for college and beyond while helping them to grow to become persons of faith, virtue, and wisdom.

Montgomery Catholic Senior Completes Eagle Scout & Invests in His School

Giving back to the community is a big deal for any high school student, but for Montgomery Catholic student Ethan Gilbert, it meant completing his Eagle Scout qualifications. Reaching the Eagle Scout level of the Boy Scouts organization is no small feat. There are many tasks to complete and it takes years to advance to the highest level. Some of these tasks include completing volunteer hours and camping hours, as well as earning merit badges. Most boys start their Boy Scout journey in 6th grade, but they must have their Eagle Scout rank accomplished by the time they reach their 18th birthday. The last task to be completed to become an Eagle Scout is a service project.

Senior Ethan Gilbert chose to refurbish the benches in the Montgomery Catholic Courtyard for his final service project. Gilbert discussed how he knew he wanted to invest back in his school because the school had invested so much in him. “It took hours to chip off the paint, and then we came to repaint,” says Gilbert. Gilbert also stated that he knew the benches would be in use even more this year because of the impact of COVID-19. 

Gilbert talked about the many skills and lessons that he has gained from Boy Scouts and explained that the organization creates well rounded citizens. He said he is “able to cooperate with others and work as a team, both in the troop and outside of the troop.” He also emphasized how Boy Scouts has provided him with connections and opportunities that he would otherwise not know about. He states “It helps you get noticed and can even help you get jobs.” When asked what his favorite part of his Eagle Scout project was, Gilbert stated “seeing the end result was probably my favorite part.” Gilbert donated his time and resources to help improve Montgomery Catholic and is thankful for the opportunity to be an Eagle Scout. 

Pictured: Ethan Gilbert has a helping hand from friend Aidan Cochran in completing his Eagle Scout project.

MCPS Student Contributors: Gracie Barranco, Maria Cervantes, Alex Hines, and John Niemi 

Photo Contributed: The Gilbert family.