In his penultimate year of high school, junior Santiago Nolasco-Galicia looks back on why he chose to attend La Salle and recalls a feeling of community.

La Salle stood out among other private schools because Nolasco-Galicia already had friends attending the school, and “it just felt like the right choice,” he said. “It’s a very welcoming place.”

Coming into high school, Nolasco-Galicia said that he didn’t have as much confidence as he does now. He accredits his growing confidence to his joining the Speech and Debate team at La Salle.

“Being able to just push yourself further and to become a better person… it’s a great skill to have,” Nolasco-Galicia said. “I’m very fortunate to have learned it.” 

Along with a passion for public speaking and politics, Nolasco-Galicia also holds his Catholic faith close to him. “I’ve definitely grown up a Catholic,” he said. “For that reason I really like religion and it comes a little easier to me.”

Nolasco-Galicia enjoys his Catholic Moral Thinking/Catholic Social Teaching class as religion plays an important role in his life. “[My religion] definitely shaped who I am as a person and definitely shaped my moral codes and what I stand for and what I believe in,” he said.

The pandemic has been a challenge for Nolasco-Galicia’s faith. “I find myself stray away but I always come back and usually it fortifies my belief,” he said. “Right now, I’d say I’m in a good place but it’s definitely harder.”

Santiago Nolasco-Galicia is interested in pursuing a career in politics. “[I] just [want to make] a difference that way,” he said.

With hopes of eventually becoming a senator, Nolasco-Galicia said he enjoys his AP U.S. History class and likes to keep himself informed with news on current events.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang first got Nolasco-Galicia interested in pursuing a career in politics. “There was this one presidential candidate who was just… speaking a lot of truths I believe in,” Nolasco-Galicia said. “He had a lot of really cool ideas.”

Although the last year has brought its challenges, Nolasco-Galicia is choosing to look on the bright side. “You always talk about wanting to experience… a groundbreaking event and it’s like, well, this is it,” he said

Through the pandemic, Nolasco-Galicia has kept his spirits up by communicating with friends and getting outside every once in a while. “It’s definitely a little hard, especially in terms of… mental health and in a work sense,” he said. “For me, online school hasn’t really clicked.”

With hybrid learning being implemented, Nolasco-Galicia is hoping for a return to some normalcy. “You can’t really have everything [going back to] normal and I think that’s just the price you pay for wanting to go back to school,” he said.

Reflecting on his high school experience so far, Nolasco-Galicia said high school has been a time to form his identity and make a move from childhood to adulthood. “It’s a time to learn who you are and to develop interests and hobbies and get an idea of what you’re going to do in the future,” he said.