Students Share Love of the Rams Community at Open House

At the MICDS Middle & Upper School Open House on Saturday, October 4, 2025, Sean Hogan ’26 and Carrie Clennan ’26 presented on the student experience to prospective Ram families. Read what they had to say to the hundreds of Open House attendees in their remarks below!

Hello all, and welcome to MICDS’ Open House I’m Sean Hogan, and this is Carrie Clennan.We are the Student Council Co-heads. We’re so excited you all could make it and have a few words to share of why we love this community.

Sean: So, what makes MICDS so special? Why join MICDS? Well, we have ice cream in the cafeteria. Need I say more? In all seriousness, the cafeteria is a great space to bring the MICDS community together, and I’ve definitely had lots of in-depth discussions about fantasy football trade terms around the table. But, if that’s not for you, one thing I’ve learned about MICDS is that there’s a place for everyone, and the opportunities are truly limitless. My family first moved to Saint Louis from Minnesota in 2019, two weeks before the start of sixth grade. Learning that my family was moving to St. Louis was shocking to my 12-year-old self. Telling my family and friends that I was moving to a state called misery shows how I initially felt about the move. By the end of the Bridge program, MICDS’ Middle School orientation program, I had already made countless new friends and was showing my parents around “my” school. The initial welcome from the MICDS community didn’t stop there. My buddy family, the Tiptons, brought me in as a true Saint Louisan, showing me the ropes of Fitz’s root beer and toasted ravioli. They truly took me in as one of their own. Through my years at MICDS, I have been able to meet people from all around the world. The diverse community means more than just hosting a large Chinese New Year’s celebration or presenting for every religious holiday observed at our school; it means learning from diverse experiences and enriching the collective global knowledge at MICDS. The environment is strongly collaborative, and we find similarities and growth through everyone’s uniqueness. Here, it’s cool to care about academics, and you can be an athlete and still be in the school play. I can honestly say that I am a stronger, better human being because of my experiences at MICDS. Carrie, what’s your story?

Carrie: For me, I was bound for MICDS before I knew it existed. My mom is class of 1994, and even though I was born in a suburb outside of Chicago, she knew she’d bring me back to St. Louis at some point. I’d like to say, I’m so glad she did. Since sixth grade, I’ve made so many friends and connections that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I’ve made friends with other kids like me that have a parent alumnus, but I have made so many more that come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. One of my most favorite things about MICDS is that everyone is welcome, and no matter how you get here, you find your people one way or another. In Middle School, I learned the importance of creativity and time management in my English classes. In math, I learned that just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you have to love it. I explored percussion and pottery, ancient cultures and the evolution of our world, and I found a true love for learning artistically, athletically, and academically. 

Sean and I both had the great privilege of participating in an exchange program with students from Instituto Albert Einstein in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and I’ll let Sean share his experience first. 

Sean: The awesome opportunities that MICDS provides don’t stop with the classroom walls. The number of travel experiences offered at MICDS is an opportunity that has been instrumental in my education. Traveling to Argentina taught me a great deal about the importance of empathy and community around the world. It also taught me to grow from mistakes and not take myself too seriously. My favorite memories from Mar del Plata are the little things, such as the laughs shared during family dinners or mishearing a teacher in physics class and debating how to solve a math problem in a foreign language. This experience provided by MICDS helped teach me life lessons that I will value and practice forever. I have friends who have gone to South Africa, learned about marine biology in Florida, and a group that is headed to Taiwan during Winter Term this year. I’ll let Carrie speak to her connections built within the Argentine experience.

Carrie: Last Sunday I had to say goodbye to my Argentine sisters, and I call them my sisters sincerely. Despite any challenges that may come with culture shock or a slight language barrier, I can confidently say that MICDS prepared me for the exchange in so many ways. Being a part of the welcoming and accepting community here allowed me to celebrate and be curious about cultural differences, as well as make friends with every new person I met. And, obviously, having taken Spanish at MICDS since sixth grade helped tremendously, and I don’t know where I would be without the help of all of my wonderful profesores. While my exchange students were here, they got to enjoy the best part (in my humble opinion) of the MICDS school year: Homecoming.

Sean: Yes! Homecoming is an incredible time here that brings all parts of our community together. The dress up days all week are a blast, and it’s always fun to see everyone in the same t-shirt on Wednesday. If anyone has been to Homecoming weekend, you know it is a time full of fun and tradition. Everything gets kicked off Friday night with food trucks and the bonfire. Saturday is a full day of fun, starting off with a family fun run or, in my case, a soccer game. While the games are going on, there are activities for everyone, whether it may be bounce houses in the MAC or free food outside. Playing in the games is always tons of fun, especially with classmates showing up to support and scream. I love bouncing between different games and watching our teams dominate all day. The day ends with the football game whiteout and leaving to go to the dance with friends. The Ram family always shows up and shows out for all events throughout the day and everyone really comes together over the course of the week to support each other and ensure everyone has fun plans for the day.

I also would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to mention the incredible adults that surround us and make MICDS so great. Every teacher and staff member truly cares about the students and wants us to succeed. One teacher I’d like to talk about whose made a big impact on my MICDS experience is Dr. Meg. Dr. Meg has been my advisor for the last four years and is the epitome of compassion at MICDS. She has supported me in all my endeavours, even when she knew I was trying to spin too many plates. She challenged me during AP Chemistry class and helped support me any way she could during collab or quick study sessions during advisory before a test. She even went out of her way by sending me restaurant recommendations for a camp I was doing out in San Francisco. The pastry shop recommendation was really good. Her only advice that led me astray was when she told our advisory to put pool noodles at the bottom of our boat for the senior boat race of Homecoming week, which led to a debatable disqualification. She has been a beacon of support during my stay at the Upper School and has helped me in nearly every way she could.

Carrie: I want to conclude by saying that no matter your background, your differences, your likes, or your dislikes, there is a place at MICDS for you. And I know that sounds so cheesy and rehearsed, but I mean it wholeheartedly. Everyone here is welcome, and everyone here has the opportunity to belong.