How
I Came to the Academy
Click on the title above to hear the address
online: use the Select Speaker (Bryant, Jay) and
Select Location (Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall) dropdown
menus to search the archived programs.
I was born in South Philadelphia and lived there
for six years, then I moved to West Philadelphia and have been living
there every since.
I went to Daroff Elementary School until 5th grade, then to Conwell
Middle School from 6th to 8th grade. Last year I went to the Academy
at Palumbo. I heard about ANC through Dez Lites.
I thought ANC would be a good opportunity to be a better student
and a better man.
When I first visited ANC I came during telegrams. I thought telegrams
was a good thing to see during my visit. The students were dressed
in some funny costumes and singing. One group was dressed up like
ipods and some were dressed like the Wiggles, a kids band from the
Disney channel. It was weird at first because I didn’t know
what was going on, but then I saw it was fun to watch and listen
to.
I decided to go to ANC because the people here were really nice
and it seemed like a good environment to learn and grow.
What about the New Church? So far I feel comfortable with it; it
is the same as what I already believed. Last Sunday Rev.
Blair did a service about going into the unknown. He talked
about Moses and the children of Israel leaving Egypt and traveling
to the promised land. He talked about how long they traveled and
how some would have rather gone back to Egypt because they were
going into an unknown place. To me ANC was the unknown place. It
was scary at first but being here now is like being at home.
Being in the dorm I’ve made lots of friends like Larry
Loughery, Malcolm Lites, Dez Lites, Shannon and Sammie Givens, Eddie
Bieker, Warren Gillis, Luc and Lyndon O’Connor,
and Desean Popley. At first I didn’t known
what to think about having a roommate but it’s turned out
really good. In the dorm the housemasters and RAs are a bunch of
nice guy you can sit down and have a conversation with and just
have fun with.
In the future I hope that my experience at ANC will help me with
my experiences. I hope that being here can set me up to go places
in life like a great college and to find a woman who will be my
wife. I hope that my experience at the New Church can help me become
a better man.
I think being at ANC is a great place to be. It is an experience
that someone can’t forget because of the people you meet and
the things you learn.
|
