Dear SUA Community,

There is always so much going on at Saint Ursula Academy, but last week was pretty extraordinary in terms of the number of students who participated in great opportunities outside of the classroom.

• Over President’s weekend, three SUA students, Ellie Fay, Sophie Glenski, Rachel Spieser, attended the Ursuline Education Network’s Student Leadership Conference.  Using instructions drawn from Saint Angela Merici’s teachings, student leaders focused on the theme of “Be as Ministers and Servants.” A highlight of the conference was a virtual conversation with author Mary Cabrini Durkin about how Saint Angela’s leadership of her Company is still a relevant leadership model today.  
• On Saturday and Sunday of last weekend, members of the SUA Interalliance Chapter participated in the 2025 Interalliance Techolympics. They attended numerous workshops, covering topics from networking to AI to Virtual Reality technologies to cutting advances in medical technology, and beyond.  They had opportunities to network with some of Cincinnati's leading companies, and a couple of our students left the weekend with interviews set up for future internships.  Our team also participated in the Showcase Competition in which we competed against 14 other schools, presenting a project that innovatively addresses a real world problem.  The girls have been working hard on their project, titled Hydrowatch, since September 2024 and placed 6th in this year's competition earning commendations for their strong presentation skills.  Bulldog attendees were Claire Foster, Erin Harding, Clare Geiger, Ellie Meyers, Caroline Reinhart, and Eva Winchester.  Eva Winchester has a huge leadership role for the Greater Cincinnati Interalliance organization and was one of the student leaders for the entire event.
• On Wednesday, Lexi Mendenhall competed in the State Diving Championships, making it to the finals and finishing in 14th place in the State!
• On Thursday, our Bowling Team qualified for Districts as a team with two of our bowlers, Shelby Luebbering and Mitzi Sperber, finishing in the top 10 as individuals. 
• On Friday, we had 857 attendees in the SUA Gym for the Winter Formal.  Huge congratulations and appreciation to the SUA Student Council who planned and executed this entire event.  It was an absolute pleasure to see so many young people from across the Tri-State having such a great time together on our campus.  Our students are to be commended for their respectful behavior, enthusiasm, and strong stewardship of our mission and campus - all on display on Saturday.
• On Saturday, two big events happened for the SUA athletic community:
  • The Aqua Dawgs continued their stellar performances at the State Meet. The following swimmers participated:  Audrey Buchanan, Riley Kleinfelder, Caroline Lied, Maddie Nixon, Ali Sadri, Tilly Shepherd, Ella Thorsen. These swimmers made the finals in many of their individual and relay events, earning top 10 finishes in many events.  The team ultimately finished in 5th place!
  • The SUA Hoop Dawgs earned the spot of District Champions and advanced in the tournament!

So, it was a great week to say the least!  While excellent academics and faith formation are at the heart of our mission, these types of learning experiences help students develop what it means to be Thinker, Leader, Nurturer, and Prophet using their unique gifts.

Go Bulldogs!

Kathy