2024 Catholic Schools Week Supplement
Eye-opening moments lead a senior closer to God, his faith and his classmates
Diego Julian has embraced his four years at Seton Catholic High School in Richmond with joy. (Submitted photo)
By John Shaughnessy
A moment with small children opened Diego Julian’s eyes and left him with a feeling he will never forget.
That moment happened as Diego was helping deliver furniture to a young family in need—part of his high school’s volunteer efforts with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
“The parents were going from job to job, and they didn’t really have the kind of paycheck to get furniture or even beds for their kids,” recalls Diego, a senior at Seton Catholic High School in Richmond. “They just had a mattress and not a box spring or anything. Being able to bring those to the kids and seeing them getting onto their bed, they were so thankful for it. The kids gave us hugs because they were so appreciative. It was eye-opening.
“People give us a lot of thanks. They’ll even do a little prayer with us afterward. The smiles on their faces bring me more joy than I can ever imagine.”
That story helps show the growth that Diego has experienced in himself during his four years at Seton Catholic. It’s a growth that has touched different parts of his life and his Catholic faith.
Entering Seton as a freshman, Diego said, he wasn’t excited about taking another religion class. Now, he embraces his faith, from being able to say prayers at the start and the end of each school day to participating in Mass at a deeper level.
“It’s not just showing up. It’s more that I’m in God’s presence. God is welcoming me into his home,” says Diego, Seton’s student council president. “I can go to him at any time, and he will always be there for me. It’s more of a thank you to my Lord. It’s more of honoring him.”
Another defining moment in that change occurred during the summer between his sophomore and junior years when he took part in a Catholic Heart Workcamp in Pennsylvania, helping people in need while also growing in his faith with other teenagers from different schools.
“That really opened my mind. I saw hundreds of kids wanting to do the same thing I was—opening their faith more, not just to themselves but to each other. Seeing there were kids like me going through the same struggles, it pushed me to open up to my faith more. I know God is there for me.”
He has the same feeling about the people he has encountered at Seton. He felt that support immediately as a freshman, including as he has played on the soccer, basketball and baseball teams.
“The first year, I was shy. I didn’t know what to do. Typical freshman,” he says. “The seniors I’ve had through the years, they were always so kind, offering to give me rides, offering to do certain things for me if I needed it. Really welcomed me onto the team no matter what sport it was. Making me feel like I was one of their close friends.
“It made me think this is what I want to do when I’m a senior. That no matter what grade you’re in, you’re one of my best friends. That’s what I try to do for every kid in the school.”
That approach has been at the heart of the way he views his teammates on the boys’ basketball team this year.
“All of us bond. We work as a team. We work as a family,” he says. “Our coach always says, ‘Don’t be a coach-led team, be a player-led team.’ We’re working so hard toward that this year. We try to help the younger players, too, to make a better team for the future.”
Diego also uses the word “family” to describe the bond among the 22 members of Seton’s Class of 2024.
“We’ve grown as a family,” he says. “It’s nice knowing we have that close bond with each other. Through the years, I’ve become closer to my faith, and it’s good knowing there are 21 other students going through the same thing I am—wanting to be closer to God. We all have the same mission—pushing each other and making sure we’re all doing OK.
“God always tells us to put others before yourself. He wants us to love each other as he does us. We all live as a family of God.” †
