For many students, deciding what college to attend is a lengthy and difficultprocess. Factors like residence, campus life, academics, and sporting eventsare all considered by prospective students. At Benedictine College, theconcept of family is emphasized, both literally and figuratively.
Founded on the Benedictine tradition, the college operates under the sharedvalues of work and prayer, forming a figurative family. Through the conceptof legacies, the term family is taken literally and runs deep at the college.As defined by the college’s website, legacy students are “students who havehad a relative formerly attend the college.” According to Benedictine CollegeResidence Life, there are 43 students in the freshman class that have at leastone sibling attending the school this year. Dozens more are consideredlegacy students through other family alumni.
For many of these students, having siblings attend the school played a largerole in their college decision as it adds a layer of comfort and safety.Freshman Audrey Bolan loved the reassurance of living in a small town withher sisters, who she also considers to be her best friends. Audrey has two older
sisters that currently attend the school and one that graduated last May.
Bolan said, “to go to school with your siblings is knowing that someone youlove is walking the same path as you. If you are ever having a rough time,you have someone immediately there for you.”
For some families, this allows for the relationship between siblings to growdeeper. After being encouraged to choose Benedictine by his older brother,Senior Sam Palmer felt their relationship grow as they had to be moreintentional in finding time to see each other.
Palmer said, “College actually helped me grow closer to him. We both haddifferent friend groups but tried to always make time to hang out.”
Sam is the second of four kids in his family to choose Benedictine and hasseen both sides of the experience. He successfully convinced his twoyounger siblings to enroll as students when they visited for family weekend.
“Because they visited, they were able to meet my friends and already knewa ton of people before going to school here. I think this really helped theirtransition to be a lot smoother. They both love it here!” said Palmer.
The Benedictine tradition and community are strengthened through thepresence of legacy students, more specifically siblings that attend at thesame time. The familiar ties add a sense of protection and aid in a smoothertransition that enhances the overall college experience.