Before stepping into the role of president at Ursuline Academy of Dallas, Dr. Andrea Shurley, Ed.D., served the community for a decade as its principal. During that time, she fell in love with the mission of the school, encapsulated in its motto, Serviam, “I will serve.”
When Ursuline Academy of Dallas’ graduating class started assigning superlatives, senior Meredith Hazzard was the proud recipient of the “most dependable” title. A quick look at her high school career—from soccer player to Student Council member to stellar student—makes that designation clearly fitting for the bright young graduate.
When missionaries on the Diocesan Youth Mission Trip arrived in Costa Rica on June 5, they began their trip wide-eyed and unsure. Many of the high school students had never left the United States; some had never engaged in hard labor or gone without certain creature comforts. Stepping into an unfamiliar country with simple amenities and a slower pace of life, many of these high schoolers found themselves homesick, uncomfortable, and uncertain at the beginning of their trip.
On an exceptionally windy day in 2021, at least two miles from the shore of Lake Hubbard near Dallas, a 13-year-old Mercedes Porter-Via pulled a stranded man aboard the sailboat “Fun” and saved his life. Now, at 15, Mercedes’ heroism has been officially recognized by the U.S. Congress.
Ursuline Academy’s Eniola Egedigwe has plenty of drive, literally and figuratively. The 18-year-old senior was typically out the door on school days at 6 a.m. to make the trek to Walnut Hill Drive from her family’s home in Forney in Kaufman County. “It’s usually an hour’s drive,” Egedigwe said. “Without traffic, maybe 30, 40 minutes.”
