by Paula Schlueter Ross
We asked current students to tell us what they like about Saint Paul Lutheran High School. Here are their responses:
Sophomore Louisa Mehl, 16, a fourth-generation member of her family to attend Saint Paul, said she knows she will be prepared for college—and life—as a result of attending the boarding school.
“You have a better understanding of how it’s going to be when you’re older because you’re not with your parents all the time,” Louisa says. “You aren’t all on your own, but you learn how to live—do your laundry, make sure you get out of bed and eat breakfast, make sure you sign up for the Wal-Mart trip if you run out of shampoo.”
Louisa, a “missionary kid,” spent most of her life in Russia. Her father, Rev. John Mehl, is regional director for Asia with LCMS World Mission. Saint Paul executive director Paul Mehl is her uncle.
Senior Esther Johnson, 17, a Liberian from South Africa, says she likes “everything about” Saint Paul. “Mostly I like how it’s so diverse,” she explains.
Esther says she will tell her 6-year-old sister to “definitely come here. . . . I’ll tell her that this is where she can truly meet God. If she wants a strong spiritual base, this is where she can get it.”
Sophomore Jordan Bredehoeft, 15, a lifelong Lutheran from nearby Blackburn, Mo., says he likes the diversity of the school, which gives students an opportunity “to learn about different people” and “meet new people.”
Jordan says he and his clasmates “learn a lot more” than their public-school counterparts. “I just think the classes are harder; they push you more at Saint Paul.”
Senior Sung Hyun “Paul” Joo, 18, from Seoul, Korea, says there are “more opportunities to get involved in extracurricular activities” at Saint Paul than at a typical large public school. Paul, who will be a premed student at Johns Hopkins University next fall, is student-body president,
a member of the National Honor Society, captain of the soccer team, and a member of the math team.
“When I first came here, I thought to myself, ‘I’m never going to go to a real good college from this school.’
“But as I got more involved in school activities, I figured out that it’s not just about Christian education, but it’s about preparing [for] your life after high school.”
For a family look at Saint Paul, click here.
