Gabbie Terlinden

Gabbie Terlinden ’24 remembers well how she felt as she started looking at high schools as an eighth grader at All Saints elementary. “I felt like I had been living in a bubble at All Saints, not that this was bad, I just was not that excited about having the same experience in high school as I had in grade school, with the same group of friends. I wanted something different,” says Gabbie. This mindset brought her to a shadow day at Roger Bacon. “I shadowed with Alaina Finan ‘22, and I just felt right away like I had found my home. Everyone was so welcoming, the classes were small, and there was just so much positive energy. I knew Roger Bacon was the place for me,” shared Gabbie. In fact, Gabbie says that her shadow day is one of her favorite moments she has had in the hallways of Roger Bacon. “I just remember feeling this warm sense of peace when I was here for the shadow day. I really felt at home, and knew this is where I wanted to me. It was an awesome feeling.”

Now as a sophomore, Gabbie is determined to make the most of her time at Roger Bacon. She is an honor student as well as a standout on the Roger Bacon swim team. She is also a member of Bacon Buddies and St. Vincent de Paul Conference. As Gabbie notes, her favorite thing about RB is the schedule, and the opportunities it provides. “I love the way the schedule is set up with seven bells, and then flex at the end of the day. As a student-athlete, it is so helpful to be able to see a teacher or start my homework during that flex period. It also is nice that there are so many other outreach opportunities, like Sow Love, or Chemo Pax, that allows me to do things that make a difference in the world.”

Like most of her sophomore classmates, Gabbie is thankful for the return of some normalcy after a freshman year that was a bit unusual due to COVID-19. “I am just so thrilled to be able to have Homecoming, or go to football games, or have classmates come to a swim meet again,” shared Gabbie, “I am also thrilled to have Bacon Buddies back. There was nothing like this program at any of the other high schools I looked at, so to have this return this year is really important to me.”

Gabbie is not really thinking yet about what colleges she may want to attend but she does know she is looking for that next “bubble” to break through in an effort to expand her horizons. Gabbie also does not know what she may want to study, though she does have a sense of what she’d like to do. “I don’t know if I would want to be a teacher, or maybe a guidance counselor, but I do know I want to make an impact on the lives of young people. I just see the impact that the teachers and staff make on students at Roger Bacon, and it is an awesome thing. I want to be able to make a difference for someone, too,” shared Gabbie.

In the midst of the current 8^th grade recruiting season, Gabbie has seen hundreds of shadows make their way through the RB hallways, just like she did two years ago. For those who are ready to decide, or are thinking about high school down the road, Gabbie was happy to share some simple advice. “I would tell those students that there is no better place than Roger Bacon. From the Franciscan values, to the sense of community and family, Roger Bacon is just special,” shared Gabbie. “I look back now, and had I just followed my friends from eighth grade to high school, I don’t know where I’d be. The friends I have made at Roger Bacon, these are the friends I will have the rest of my life. So I guess the simplest advice I can offer those students is to not just follow the crowd, follow your heart.”