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Transitions to College: School Life, Academics, & Healthy Relationships

by Jamie Bryant, Director of Marketing & PR
At CCES, we pride ourselves on getting our students “college ready.” This starts with conditioning in the earliest of grades, and culminates in the Upper School with three dedicated college counselors who work closely with each student to find their best college match.
 
Last year, Upper School administration went one-step further with new programming for seniors dubbed Transitions to College: School Life, Academics, and Healthy Relationships—focusing on the things we all wish we’d known before we left for college, but no one ever told us.
 
The programming continued this year, and on May 21st and 22nd seniors gave a mere hour of their time both days, an investment that paid them back in spades. Monday’s presentation focused on healthy relationships and featured guest speaker Dr. Melissa Holmes, CCES parent, M.D., and Girlology/Guyology co-founder. Her daughter, Caroline Vermillion (2016 alumna and current Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA student) accompanied Dr. Holmes and shared personal anecdotes from her experiences in her first two years at Berklee. As these students are mature enough for a discussion on sexuality, Dr. Holmes covered topics ranging from consent, intimacy, harassment, and abuse, to birth control, STDs, and the effects of the choices students will make surrounding drugs, alcohol, and sex, on their college career path. Dr. Holmes used polls where students answered questions via text, fun activities, and relatable associations— such as comparing consent to ordering a pizza— to keep students’ attention and peak their interest. She spoke to students about the idea of affirmative consent emphasizing, “the person with the tightest boundaries always wins.”
 
The next day’s presentation on school life kicked off with four CCES alumni in a Town Hall style forum. CCES Alumni from the Class of 2017, Alexandria Leland (Tulane), Sophie Temple (UNC), Conrad Pentaleri (Michigan), and Kaelyn Williams (UGA) discussed the stressors, anxieties, joys and experiences they’ve had their first year in college in an open and honest format. There was lots of energy and excitement in the room, as the seniors eagerly anticipate their own college campus arrivals. Conrad shared a roomate horror story! Sophie urged students to, "Find places on campus where you can focus." Kaelyn commented that college was a different academic environment, addressing relationships wtith professors and how it differs from CCES. “Be memorable,” she recommended. “Community is an important thing,” Alexandra echoed. “There is so much going on. FOMO is a real thing, don’t let it get the best of you.”
 
This programming was well planned by Upper School administration and College Counseling, well executed by our guest speakers, and thoroughly enjoyed by the Class of 2018. These students will soon graduate with not only a college-prep curriculum behind them and a clear path forward, but also a step closer to being college-ready in a much greater sense of the term.
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    • Dr. Melissa Holmes, CCES parent, M.D., and Girlology/Guyology co-founder

    • Dr. Holmes and her daughter, Caroline Vermillion (2016 alumna and current Berklee College of Music student)

    • 2017 CCES alumni panel

Christ Church Episcopal School (“CCES”) admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at CCES. CCES does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, scholarship or other programs, or athletic or other school-administered programs and activities.