Senior Caroline Tracy Profiled in the Catholic Spirit
May 17, 2016
Congratulations graduates!
Reprinted from the Catholic Spirit, May 12, 2016
Read the entire article on Caroline and the other 17 seniors profiled.
Caroline Tracy
Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul
Tracy attends St. Joseph in West St. Paul. Her parents are Tom and Valerie Tracy. She plans to attend Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
What is the greatest lesson you learned in high school?
Do what you love. I do service at Peace House. There, I met a friend named Ali, who always gives me great advice and words of wisdom. One day, I was telling him about how I was unsure what I wanted to do with my life, and he simply responded, “Do what you love.” I think about this every time I am making a difficult decision and how important it is to follow my heart.
Name one thing you are proud of accomplishing in high school.
I am most proud of playing a leading role in my senior year fall musical, “Children of Eden.” I played the role of Eve and was able to sing amazing music and work with inspiring people. The reason I enjoyed it so much was because of all the hard work I put in, and the rewards I reaped from that work. I learned to trust myself and I found that I was more capable than I had ever thought before.
If you could have an audience with Pope Francis, what would you discuss with him?
I would talk with Pope Francis about making the Catholic Church feel like a welcoming and loving environment for marginalized people. My hope would be that anyone who does not have a place to belong can find that place in the Church.
Describe the most significant faith experience you have had during high school.
My most significant faith experience was traveling to San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, to do service work through a mission. I was so moved by the beauty in the people and the land that God had created there. Since the day I got home, I have not forgotten what I saw and who I met. It put my life into perspective with a better understanding of what everything in my world really means and is worth.
What book did you read in high school that most changed the way you think?
Reading “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wudunn changed the way I think about feminism and the empowerment of women around the world. The education of women is vital to the ingenuity and unity of generations to come.
Who is a spiritual role model for your Catholic faith?
My spiritual role models have always been my grandma and grandpa. They are so devoted to their faith and to their family, and I am so grateful for the love they have given me. They are rooted in their faith, and I can clearly see that passed down into their children, my cousins and myself. I will never forget my childhood sleepovers at their house, and them praying with me before I went to sleep.
What can the Catholic Church do to keep you and other young adults engaged in the life of the Church?
I think in these rapidly changing times, the Catholic Church needs to be an advocate for all the issues that face the modern world. People need to turn to their faith in a war-torn world, and the Church should be a voice of opposition to violence. As a young person, I know that my peers have a goal to be global citizens, which means being engaged in current events and knowing your own beliefs, and being able to use those beliefs to challenge things that are unjust. If the Church encourages young people to be active members in society and to physically go out and make a change, it would lead us to want to be a part of the Church.
If you could have a conversation with a historical figure, who would it be and why?
If I could, I would talk with Katherine Hepburn. Being an actress primarily in the 1940s and ’50s could have been a very demeaning profession, but Hepburn made it seem empowering. She was a role model who wasn’t a perfect blonde bombshell; rather, she was independent, bold and took on roles that challenged gender stereotypes. In a time when women were not supposed to speak up, Hepburn showed her strength through her acting and her fearlessness to do things that were meaningful to her, which to me is inspiring.
If you could go back in time five years, what advice would you give yourself?
I would tell myself to be open to all people and appreciate their differences. I have found that by keeping an open mind and listening to what someone has to say makes me appreciate why God made us all diverse. It also makes me thankful for my own strengths, and even my weaknesses. I can find things that I am not good at in others, and I think that is amazing.
What are the top three things that you hope to accomplish in your life?
First, I want to have children so I can teach them to go out in the world and do good. Secondly, I want to spend time in a developing country so I can better understand poverty first-hand, and I would love to be immersed in it so that I can truly know the experience. Lastly, I want to have a career that makes me feel fulfilled. I want to be able to help others as well as myself. My goal is to be able to go home knowing I made a difference for someone and that I learned something from that experience.