Interview with St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School Alum, Sarah Turner
Sarah Turner, a 2003 graduate of St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School, shares her appreciation of the school's tight-knit community, the emphasis on all-girls education, and the comprehensive support system. Sarah also notes the school's rich history. She praised the lifelong friendships forged at the school and recognized the school’s role in shaping her into the confident woman she is today.
Highlights from the interview
St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School always felt like a family and it always felt like a place that I belonged. And in my 15 years as a student at St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School, that was a feeling that never wavered. The fact that St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn offers preschool education all the way to the final year of high school is an important factor.
St. Mildred's-Lightbourn offers a wide range of global citizenship opportunities, including exchange programs and internships to offer valuable on-the-job experience. And I think it really complements the learning that students are doing within the classroom. The facilities at the school are incredible and contribute to enriching the education that the girls receive. There is the emphasis on the power of learning beyond the classroom.
If I had to pick three personality traits to describe St. Mildred's-Lightbourn, the three that come to mind for me are courage, kindness, and adaptability. First of all, courage, the belief that we can do anything and the courage to try; second, kindness, the belief that everyone is truly special and that we're better when we come together; and, adaptability, the belief that we should always be evolving and always have an eye to the future to look for ways that we can grow and that we can improve.
St. Mildred's-Lightbourn really values and believes in what an all-girls education can do, and believes in preparing all girls to lead and excel in all areas of their life. The emphasis on the power of an all-girls education also differentiates St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn from other schools.
I'm incredibly grateful to the school for the amazing education that I received at St. Mildred's-Lightbourn, and also the lifelong friendships that I had the pleasure of making during my time at the school.
I think what really connects the students at St. Mildred's-Lightbourn is the sense of community. Not only the friendships with each other, but the wonderful relationships with their teachers, with all of the staff at the school. There are still several girls from my Junior Kindergarten classroom that I have the opportunity to get together with regularly, and to see each other through these different stages in our lives has been a true, true gift. One of my dear friends celebrated her wedding reception at St. Mildred's-Lightbourn.
Another thing that makes the school truly special is its sense of tradition, and the school's rich history, which actually dates back more than 125 years.
The school truly values the importance of giving back to our communities, not only our school community, but the communities in which we live and work, and really in the world around us.
New students and families might see the size of the campus and be surprised to find out that it feels really like a small, close-knit community despite the size. The teachers and staff go to great lengths to make sure that every girl is truly supported. And that extends to the classroom and to other areas of the school community and to the school experience, including clubs, sports, academic support, and more.
Without a doubt, St. Mildred's-Lightbourn has truly helped shape the person that I am today. It started with the nurturing environment from my very first day in Junior Kindergarten, the support of teachers, the staff who believed in me, and who invested the time in helping to prepare me for my time in postsecondary education and beyond.
Our wonderful teachers and guidance counselors really worked with each girl to help all of us identify the path that was right for us, following our time at St. Mildred's-Lightbourn, and setting us up with the tools that we needed to be successful on that path.
I really can't think of anything that could have made my experience at St. Mildred's-Lightbourn better.
The thought of leaving the school upon graduating, as excited as I was for that next chapter and to go off to university, was incredibly emotional. I remember so clearly on my graduation day from St. Mildred's-Lightbourn, one of my dear teachers came up to me in the hallway after the prize-giving ceremony, and she could tell that I was emotional. It was an emotional day, I think, for all of us. She said to me, ‘Sarah, this is a day to be happy. This is a day to celebrate all the girls in your graduating class have accomplished.’ I sat there and I thought about what she had said, and she was right.
I have loved St. Mildred's-Lightbourn since the time that I had the opportunity to attend, and that love and respect for the school has only deepened over time. To have graduated and to have developed even more of an appreciation for the quality of education the school provides, the lifelong friendships, I think you really realize, even more so, after you graduate from St. Mildred's-Lightbourn. And I think that's something that truly sets the school apart and is truly something that makes St. Mildred's-Lightbourn the exceptional place that it is.
