Eyes on the Prize – Many Benedictine Seniors are Closing in on Completing College Essays and Finalizing Their Applications

On successive afternoons in early August, about three dozen members of the Benedictine Class of 2026 gathered in the school cafeteria, after signing up for the Summer Common Application and Essay Writing Workshop. For a couple of hours each afternoon they were watching presentations from the School Counseling department’s Patricia Hunt and Christina Grande, digging into the worksheets and handouts provided, and polishing their college essay drafts. Whether they were coming from football or soccer practice, or officer meetings in preparation for Freshman Orientation, these seniors were united in focusing on the steps and tasks of the college admission process that loomed ahead.

The School Counseling department at the Benedictine Schools of Richmond has expanded its resources and offerings significantly over the last year, with dedicated staff now at both Saint Gertrude High School and Benedictine College Prep in each of three major areas: Academic Counseling, Social and Emotional Support, and College and Career Planning. The dedicated members of that department work together to support students in both schools, even though they each have a primary responsibility to one school or the other. 

At Benedictine College Prep, Patricia Hunt oversees the College and Career Planning area, while Aaron Humphreys has the main responsibility for Social and Emotional Support, and they share efforts in the area of Academic Counseling – taking various things into account in charting the optimum path for each student. Sidney McCray, Benedictine’s Varsity Basketball Coach, serves as Learning Specialist at Benedictine.

The workshop mentioned above stands as the first event in the busy 2025-26 school year for the department. While Patricia Hunt acted as the lead instructor for the workshop at Benedictine, Christina Grande – primarily focused on Saint Gertrude students – also offered instruction and guidance. Aaron Humphreys was involved as well at Benedictine, checking in with students and answering questions, while his counterpart at Saint Gertrude – Isabelle Craddock – also offered the same type of assistance and support.

Hunt, in summarizing the workshop at Benedictine, noted that the boys had already been working on their college essays in the spring, so they were at a different point than the girls at this stage. Hunt offered this summary of the workshop: “Day 1 began with the cadets reviewing their SCOIR accounts, solidifying their college list, signing the FERPA, assigning application deadlines to their colleges and linking their 11th grade year leadership resume in their SCOIR accounts. We reviewed the changes to the Common Application for 2025-26. We discussed the importance of the Activities section and how to leverage their activities in order of importance and impact. The second half of the day, counselors met individually with students and read the common application essay that they wrote in English 11/AP Language and Culture last spring. Counselors provided constructive feedback, and cadets were asked to revise their essay for additional review on Day 2.”

“On Day 2, we began with a check-in to be sure that the following sections on the common application were complete: profile, education, testing, family, and activity. We then discussed feedback from Tuesday’s essays. Common themes were identified, and we discussed how they can frame their essays to showcase their natural voice, focus their story on themselves, and the essay takeaway. We discussed the Supplemental College Questions that individual colleges include and provided them tips to keep these supplemental questions and essays targeted. Finally, counselors did a second individual review of their Common Application essay and cadets downloaded a detailed Essay Tracker with prompts and deadlines to keep their applications organized.” 

“Seniors continued working on their applications in Leadership periods in the first few weeks of school, with the goal of having all applications submitted prior to the Thanksgiving break.”

Emphasizing the team approach of the School Counseling department, as well as their holistic approach to serving our students throughout their four years here, in an intentional and strategic manner, Humphreys offered this overview of the program they have developed: “We are offering the same curriculum to both schools. We are offering a comprehensive college counseling curriculum that begins in 9th grade. The academic, social/emotional and career workshops that we offer to 9th and 10th grade students are intentionally preparing each student to help them keep as many options on the table as possible to choose from come junior and senior year.” 

For more information on our website about the School Counseling department, visit
College and Career Counseling