Some families pray together. Some go to church together. Some celebrate together, and some don’t. Nevertheless, there comes a time in students’ religious journeys when they must take control and start to make decisions for themselves.
Senior Uriella Gyebi-Donkor said she grew up Christian but became more involved with Christianity in middle school.
“Christianity has helped me find my sense of self and identity,” she said. “I really appreciate Christianity for helping me do that.”
Gyebi-Donkor said becoming more religious in middle school helped her during her freshman year when she was struggling with her identity and relationship issues. She explained she began going to church and praying more often.
“I started to lean on God more,” she said. “I needed someone to talk to. I couldn’t bottle this up anymore.”
Junior Ilana Binsky said Judaism played an important role in her childhood.
“It’s a lot of who I am, and how I live my life and see the world,” she said.
Currently, Binsky said she is part of Jewish clubs and regularly goes to synagogue.
“I stay active and have an active role in the Jewish community,” she said. “I try to put myself in positions where I would have those opportunities.”
Sophomore Ruby Doyaga said she didn’t grow up religious, but her parents are Catholic. She realized she wanted to become more religious after visiting the Vatican, she explained.
“It was a mix of wanting inner peace and seeing this religion that I was born into,” she said.
Senior Michel Vargas said he didn’t always understand the value of being religious.
“It was strange to me,” he said. “My family would always pray, and the church is like ‘God and Jesus, he’s this guy who always takes care of you, who’s good,’ but I never saw that.”
Vargas said he started to become more interested in Christianity two years ago, when he asked his friend to help him understand certain aspects of the religion.
After researching Christianity more, Vargas said he began reading the Bible every day.
“That’s when I started to build a better connection, a better relationship with God and the church,” he added.
Vargas explained even though he reads the Bible every day and is very involved with his religion, he still isn’t perfect.
“It’s like rewiring your brain, the way you act, the way you speak,” he said. “Just because I’m religious doesn’t mean I’m any better than anyone else. I struggle a lot with it.”
Gyebi-Donkor said she tries to spend 15 to 20 minutes every day talking to God. She is also challenging herself to pray for an hour every day, she added.
“It’s really really hard, but I feel it’s beneficial because I feel good about myself and really good about my relationship with God after I’ve prayed,” she said.
Doyaga said she tries to go to church every Sunday, pray and practice Lectio Divina. She explained Lectio Divina is a practice that includes picking out a Bible quote significant to you and linking it to prayer.
“I think I’ve become more forgiving and more calm as a person ever since I became Catholic,” Doyaga said.
Vargas said over the summer, he started a TikTok account where he shares Bible verses he has read.
“I tend to want to share and relate with other people so they can have a good understanding of how it’s not just about going to church, it’s deeper than that,” he explained.
Binsky said her religion influences the schools she is looking at for college.
“I want to go to a college that’s good for me,” she said. “But I also need to go to a college that has a big Jewish population and isn’t known for antisemitism.”
Gyebi-Donkor said her religion is very meaningful to her.
“I feel it’s more than a religion,” she said. “It’s more of a relationship.”
Published and Digitized December 2025.
