Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Catholic school graduates first class
SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas’ first Catholic high school celebrated its inaugural graduating class Saturday at The Jones Center.
Twelve students graduated as part of Ozark Catholic Academy’s first commencement.
“Each of the graduates took a risk to leave high school as a freshman or otherwise and help establish the culture and found a new school,” said John E. Rocha, head of school. “For that, we are all grateful. This first class will be remembered for helping create the foundation that other students will benefit from.”
Mary Schaefer, head girl and class salutatorian, said she was one of the first students signed up to attend the high school when it opened in 2018. The school’s head boy and girl serve like student body presidents, Schaefer said. The initial students helped establish the academy’s culture and student council, said the Bentonville 18-year-old.
“It’s been nice, because we’ve been able to be a part of that and making those decisions and trying to understand what is good for the rest of the student body years on,” Schaefer said.
The independent Catholic school is in the Father Pietro Bandini Parish Education Center, which was previously used for youth groups and classes by St. Joseph Church in Tontitown. It serves 74 students in grades 9-12.
Independent Catholic schools aren’t operated by a parish and must pay for themselves. The academy is funded through tuition and private donations, Rocha said. Annual tuition at the school is $ 9,750, according to the academy’s website.
The school opened with 23 freshmen and sophomores and added a grade annually until all high school grade levels were established, Rocha said.
The school hopes to grow to accommodate as many as 225 students and anticipates 90 students will attend this fall, he said.
“Each year, we have a larger freshman class,” Rocha said. “This year’s incoming class is already as large as last year’s. We currently have 28 students enrolled, with a few others still deciding.”
Matthew Moix, head boy and class co-valedictorian, said he’s enjoyed helping incoming classes get established. Moix, 17, of Rogers, said he was also one of the school’s first students.
“It’s been really great to be that founding class and to see the classes behind you come in and really help build the school,” he said. “It’s really cool to see what we’ve built so far.”
The small class size has helped form strong relationships for the graduating class, he said.
“We’ve just become very, very close,” Moix said. “Whether it’s basketball, whether it’s performing in a play, we all do a lot of the same things.”
Schaefer said the class became particularly close last year when Moix was fighting cancer.
“We went through that hard time together,” she said.
Moix was unable to attend class in-person for six months last school year after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, he said.
“I was cancer-free as of February 2020,” he said.
Students have been attending classes in-person for the bulk of the pandemic, Rocha said. Hybrid and virtual options were offered for students who were quarantined or needed virtual learning.
Schaefer said graduating during a pandemic wasn’t what she’d imagined for her senior year and being able to have an in-person graduation was a blessing.
“I’m taking what I can get, and I’m so glad,” she said. “Even though the pandemic took up a lot, there’s a lot I feel like I’m blessed with.”
The academy’s graduation celebration began Friday night with a baccalaureate mass and dinner in the St. Joseph Parish Hall, Rocha said. Schaefer spoke at the event, as did her father, George V. Schaefer, he said.
Stephen Minnis, president of Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., was the keynote speaker at Saturday’s commencement, Rocha said. Moix and co-valedictorian Becka Buron both made remarks at the event as well.
“I don’t think it’s really hit us yet that we’re about to graduate and that we helped found a school,” Moix said, adding it will be interesting to return to see how the school has changed.
Moix and Schaefer both plan to attend college in the fall. Moix is graduating with a 4.0 GPA and plans to attend the University of Central Arkansas to study business management, he said. Schaefer graduated with a GPA of 3.96 and said she’ll be attending Saint Louis University to major in public health on a pre-med track.
The first graduating class has truly had a taste of what’s to come for Catholic education in Northwest Arkansas, Rocha said.
“As we continue to grow and involve more students and families in the OCA way, we can anticipate only getting better,” he said.