Seton Grad Luke Seymour – Letter from Benedictine College

Seton Advanced Academic Diploma ’19, Benedictine College Architecture Major ’23

In addition to majoring in Classical Architecture, I am competing in varsity track and field. I am also a member of the Gregorian Fellows leadership program and the president of the college’s Latin Mass Society.

Originally from Dallas, Texas, our family recently moved to Atchison, Kansas, to be closer to the college. My parents started homeschooling my two younger brothers and me with Seton when I was in fourth grade, and it was one of the most beneficial and life-changing decisions we have ever made.

When I first arrived on campus almost two years ago, it immediately struck me how similar college was to homeschooling, even though I was eight hours from home and there was an element of culture shock. The most important factor in this smooth transition was the fact that homeschooling allows for so much flexibility.

Mastering Your Schedule

As a homeschooled student, I was master of my own schedule. This flexibility allowed for many extracurriculars, such as travel, varsity sports, altar serving, cooking, and deepening my love of traditional architecture. College is very similar in this way.

Although you are working on a fixed schedule for the overall semester, you are the master of your day. You choose when to do homework and reading. You choose whether to give everything your A+ effort. You are the one held accountable for all your actions, and in this way, college life is very similar to homeschooling.

One thing that I love about Seton is the solid Catholic foundation it lays. Seton weaves the Faith into every aspect of its curriculum.

As a high schooler, I knew that I wanted to attend an authentically Catholic college, and this led me to the Newman Guide; however, my search was still somewhat vague.

In tenth grade, my search became much narrower when I started to seriously consider studying architecture. I knew that I wanted to study classical, traditional styles (specifically, I want to build churches), and the only schools that have exclusively classical architecture programs are Benedictine College and the University of Notre Dame.

When I visited Benedictine at the beginning of my senior year, the choice was made clear. Benedictine College is unapologetically Catholic from the leadership on down, and you can tell the professors really care.

It is such a special place where, like Seton’s curriculum, the Faith is intermingled into every part of life, with processions, public rosaries, well-known Catholic speakers, and easy access to the Sacraments. There are even chapels in the residence halls!

Seton’s rigorous curriculum also prepared me well for standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT, and I have made the President’s List or Dean’s List every semester so far in a very intense architecture program.

What I’d Like to Share…

First of all, work on developing good time management skills. As I said, in college, you are the master of your day, and while this is very freeing, it can also be stressful if you fall behind and very hard to make work up.

Secondly, appreciate the time you have with your family. Homeschooling allows you to develop close relationships with parents and siblings, and it is important not to take this for granted.

Third, develop a strong prayer life. When things get tough, it is important to remember that ultimately, God is in control.

Finally, have fun! Time really does fly, and it is important to hang on to every moment, because this is time you will never get back.