Holy Cross welcomes potential Tartans for a Day every Monday or Tuesday until Dec 13, 2021. Eighth graders come to visit and shadow a freshman or sophomore LOTA for the whole day to see what it is like to attend the school. Middle school girls from all over the DMV visit the school to see if they would like the Academy to be their next step in life. 

Director of Admissions Barbara Murray and Assistant Director Nancy Salmeron go through a lot of planning to make sure each Tartan for a Day goes well and that each prospective student feels welcomed in the community. They make sure everyone that is involved, such as the department chairs and student ambassadors, know what they have to do to make it a special day for the eighth grade girls.

“It’s a team effort,” Salmeron said. “We wouldn’t be able to do it without everyone’s help.”

In order to make sure each middle schooler gets a special experience, Murray and Salmeron go through each request and interest that is given to them so they can pick the best shadow for the visitors. 

“We take a lot of time sitting there matching the hosts,” Murray explained. “The girls want to come and meet students with similar interests.”

As the staff of the Admissions office, it is their job to prepare the hostesses so the students feel comfortable during their visit.

“It’s not just the hostesses,” Murray pointed out. “It’s the whole community that helps them want to know if they wanna fit in here.” 

The shadows might not be used to seeing girls older than them since they are usually some of the oldest students of their middle school.

“In a perspective, it’s kind of overwhelming seeing all of the older girls,” Salmeron included. “You want to feel right at home and the student ambassadors make them feel welcome.”

Freshman Megan Depman has had the pleasure to be the hostess of multiple shadows. After experiencing her own shadow online last year due to covid, it was an enjoyable experience actually showing girls around the school.

“It was really fun,” Depman said. “I liked showing them the tips and tricks I’ve learned here in my months at AHC.” 

Valeria Tovar is an eighth grader at Mclean School who shadowed at Holy Cross on October 18. Her older sister attends Holy Cross and said it has been an amazing experience for her so far. 

“The shadow visit was super fun,” Tovar said. “I really felt like I could see myself here for high school.” 

Tovar had the opportunity to attend modern dance class, Spanish 1, honors geometry, and biology.

“The teachers were welcoming,” Tovar exclaimed. “They made me excited to possibly be able to have them as my teachers next year.” 

Being the youngest of the school can be tough. Tovar however stated that she liked being able to talk to girls of different age groups because, as an eighth grader, she is the oldest of her middle school, and talking to older girls gives her a sense of sisterhood.