The Brave News

By Marcelles Williams

The “Brave For a Day” shadow program is one of Bosco’s top admissions resources. With a successful start to the application season, more prospective students are learning about Bosco’s Brotherhood.

St. John Bosco hosted its first group of “shadows” on September 7th and have been going strong ever since. The school has hosted around 150 shadows so far and that number is going to grow with more future Braves shadowing over the upcoming months. There is expected to be over 500 shadows by the end of the application season. The shadow program is essential for our admissions as over 50% of shadows end up attending Bosco and joining the Brotherhood.

When students shadow, the parents of those prospective students are able to take a tour around campus. Spearheaded by Ms. Patty Lazcano, parents get to learn about the Bosco experience and the programs the school has to offer.

“We start in the 200 building, go over to the 300/400 buildings, then we crossover to the athletic side and show them the weight room and talk about the garden, then talk about our other soccer and lacrosse fields, then we come back with a Q and A at the end,” said Ms. Lazcano.

Ms. Lazcano as the Shadow Program Coordinator has a big role in the school’s admissions and getting new students into the Bosco Brotherhood. When asked how parents feel about shadowing at Bosco, she replied, “Really really good. The kids are no different, either; they always say they had a great day.”

Shadow Luca Liren is an eighth grader and hockey player from Long Beach. He shadowed Patrick Cech and enjoyed his time learning about the day-to-day life and programs on campus.

“[My experience has] actually been pretty good. The sports team, the people and the teachers are nice,” said Luca.

Luca enjoyed his time at Bosco and would is strongly considering coming back as a student next year. This is because he believes it would help prepare him for college and sports. If he attends, he will play hockey for the Braves and could be seen being a key contributor in a few years for the school’s team.

These kinds of experiences are a testament to what the Bosco community is all about. The Bosco Family welcomes anyone from anywhere from any background.

A lot of our current Braves were once shadows, and now, the roles are reversed, as they become role models by showing the next generation how to be a Brave. This is the case for Ignacio Fonseca. He shadowed as an 8th grader and loved his experience, ultimately driving him to enroll at Bosco.

“It was different for me because I really looked up to this school. I’ve been wanting to come here as a kid and the shadow day really solidified that for me,” said Ignacio, Class of ’24.