What I Love About PVI

by Timothy Beard '27

PVI is a wonderful environment made up of over twelve hundred students. During my freshman year last year, three things I came to love about PVI are its faith-based community, its academics, and its sports.

PVI has brought me closer to God through its community of students and teachers. Everyone at PVI is like a family because we are all connected by our faith in God. To me, we are also a family in the sense of how kind and accepting everyone is at PVI. The teachers contribute to this. PVI faculty help to connect all the students through their engaging classes and their ongoing encouragement to get involved in PVI activities. One of my favorite memories from my freshman year was my very first day in Mr. MacDonnell’s Gifts of Human Love class. During this class we were put into random groups of four students. At the time, I did not know many of the other students in my class. I was put into a group with other freshmen I had not talked to before. This seemingly-random group of students — Jeremiah, John, and Bryson — ended up becoming friends of mine and helped me to make other new friends, too.

Another reason why I like attending PVI is the academics. I believe that the teachers and office staff care much more than those at a public school. Here at PVI, the faculty and staff are very attentive and understanding. I believe that the way the curriculum is taught is also a reason that PVI academics stand out compared to public schools. Another teacher at PVI whose class I really enjoyed as a freshman was Mrs. Faircloth’s. She is a very nice person and a very good teacher that did not give a lot of homework. She was very flexible with test makeup dates and she has an overall happy personality. She has made PVI better for me. This is one of the many reasons why I like attending PVI.

A third thing I have come to love at PVI is the sports. Sports and school spirit are very important at PVI. Sports and school spirit help everyone feel connected and comfortable. The themed dress down days, for example, is one of the ways that PVI shows school spirit. These dress down days help students feel connected. It also takes out the anxiety and fear of being made fun of for what you are wearing because the more you embrace and have fun with the theme, the more normal you'll feel!

These are just some of the things that helped me as a freshman feel at home at PVI.