Why Christendom College is a Natural Fit for Seton Students

As I reflect on the education I am receiving as a freshman at Christendom College, the unique transition from Seton to Christendom is something that particularly strikes me.

The process has felt natural, and I believe I have the similarities between Seton and Christendom to thank for that. However, Seton and Christendom are also very different, in a complementary way. Seton and Christendom are two sides of the same coin. The two schools have a similar mission, but Christendom’s education is the adult counterpart of Seton’s education.

Seton and Christendom Have Many Similarities

First, the school and college complement each other beautifully. One of Seton’s primary goals is to teach the Faith and to accomplish this, every subject is permeated with the Catholic Faith. At Seton, Catholic teaching was a part of everyday life, and because of that, I learned my Faith well.

At Christendom, Catholic truth is a theme in all my classes, and every class is taught from a Catholic viewpoint. This is a huge reason Seton flowed so smoothly into Christendom; the way I’m looking at the world through academics is essentially the same.

Seton also did me a huge favor by instilling such high academic standards. Sure, the first research report scared me, with all the citation rules, but now, I can be confident that I’ll never accidentally plagiarize! And I’ll admit, the time I spent memorizing Latin for tests made for some not-so-fun evenings. Ultimately, though, all that effort prepared me to succeed in college. The stakes are a little higher here, so it helps to have good study habits in place.

At Christendom, I’m always challenged academically. Haphazard studying isn’t enough. As with Seton, the bar is set high. However, because my Seton education was so thorough and I was never graded on a curve, I know I can handle the workload, with less stress.

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Christendom Deepens and Expands Seton’s Education

As Seton prepared me for college, Christendom is preparing me for life. The liberal arts education in which Christendom specializes takes everything I learned at Seton to the next level.

Theology, philosophy, history, literature – the whole core curriculum at Christendom – is an integrated study, to a mature degree, of those fundamental truths that I examined in high school, but never studied in-depth.

Grade school was the earliest stage of development. In grade school, I learned the basics: how to read, write, spell properly, use proper grammar, and understand the basic principles of math. I was crawling academically, laying the foundation to function as a civilized human being, so I could someday learn to think independently and be a good human being.

High school was where I broadened my mind to think on more sophisticated topics. I was scratching the surface of deeper truths and understanding more about why things are the way they are, but not yet going deeper.

Learning to write well, read critically, study the Bible, and read more mature history textbooks led to great development as a person. However, why would I let it end there? So much more insight was possible, but couldn’t be taught in the four years of high school.

Now I’m finally finishing what I started. Revisiting the truths I learned in high school from a more adult perspective is satisfying. Continuing where I left off in Seton is, for me, not only a delightful next step but also a logical one.

Why Christendom was the Ideal Choice for Me

These aspects have made my college choice the ideal choice for me. I know what to expect at Christendom, yet I’m far enough out of my comfort zone to grow, both academically and individually.

Christendom was a great choice for my college education for the same reasons Seton was such a great fit in childhood and high school. Through Seton, I learned the Faith, I was ingrained with high standards of work, and I learned the discipline of actively seeking an education. Christendom is like an extension of Seton. It is concerned with Catholic truth, high academic standards, and personal formation through effort and achievement.

However, Christendom delves deeper and takes everything to a new level. It’s far different from Seton, because it elaborates, deepens, and seeks to answer the why? Questions that Seton, as a primary and secondary school, cannot touch upon. Because Seton was perfect for childhood, Christendom is appropriate for adulthood. For me, my college education is the culmination, or fulfillment, of my high school education.

Choosing Christendom College made sense because of my Seton upbringing – it just seemed right.

About Elizabeth Jamieson

Elizabeth Jamieson, born and raised in Texas, loves everything to do with the outdoors, including hiking, horseback riding, and gardening. She has six siblings and a very large German Shepherd, whom she trained as a puppy. A graduate of the Seton Home Study Class of 2016, she is now a freshman at Christendom College and enjoying life on campus, pursuing higher education.