Chacon chooses fit over familiarity

Griff Wyse ’21

Previously published in “The Mount” a publication produced by the staff of Mount Michael’s Journalism team. Follow the journalism team via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube links on https://mountonline.org

BY Griff Wyse

Everyone’s high school experience is unique; some attend public schools, some attend private, some attend boarding schools, and others are home schooled. Leonel Chacon ‘23 has experi­enced a mix of a few. Born in Guatemala and raised in the Bronx, Chacon faced a problem when it came to schooling.

“I went to public school in New York, but I wanted to switch. It is hard to switch schools there because they want you to stay in the same district,” Chacon said.

Because of this, Chacon started look­ing at private boarding schools in the Bronx and surrounding areas.

“Boarding schools on the East Coast are very expensive, like $60,000 a year,” he said. “I found a website that ranked and rated boarding schools nationwide, and that is where I found Mount Mi­chael.”

After doing more research, Leonel decided that Mount Michael would be a good fit for him.

“It was a lot cheaper than the schools in the East Coast, and it was really high­ly ranked for academics which is what I was looking for in a school,” he said. “The academics at my school in New York weren’t meeting what I wanted.”

Not only was Chacon looking for better academics but also a place with a journalism program. He enjoys writ­ing so much that he started the only journalistic publication at his school back in the Bronx.

Chacon and a friend first started publishing the paper for fun but then one of his teachers told him he could get paid for his work through a pro­gram the school had called Canvas.

“Since there were lots of interna­tional students at my school, we would write about things to do in New York, places to eat, and other stuff about Amer­ica in general,” he said.

Chacon is continuing to follow his in­terest in journalism by taking the intro to journalism class.

“He is a really nice guy, and I’m look­ing forward to working with him this year,” Andrew Skaggs ‘22 said. “I didn’t know that he had started his own publi­cation for his school back in New York, but that’s impressive and makes me feel even more confident in his skills as a writer.”

New York and Nebraska are in stark contrast with each other; New York City alone has four times as many people as all of Nebraska.

“The weekends here get kind of bor­ing sometimes,” Chacon said. “There is not as much to do as there is in New York. That is the only bad thing so far; I have enjoyed everything very much.”

While Chacon is still settling in and getting used to life in Nebraska, he is fit­ting in.

“I think he’s a great addition to the floor,” sophomore dean Jacob Idra ‘18 said. “He’s a really interesting fella, very kind and respectful and he gets good grades so I’m not worried about him. He will do great things at Mount Michael.”