As Anne-Sophie Gray graduates from Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, an all-girls Catholic high school in Washington, D.C., she leaves a legacy of hard work in both her academic and personal achievements and lasting impressions on peers and teachers from the past four years.
Gray plans to study political science at Fordham University, a Jesuit university in New York, and intends to work in public policy or public affairs in the future. Her interest in politics and government can already be seen, as she was voted president of her senior class. Her other leadership positions include yearbook editor and co-president of the French club. She also helped coordinate events as a member of Kaleidoscope, a diversity, equity, and inclusion club.
Catholic education has been an important part of Gray’s life; she attended middle school at Holy Trinity School in Washington, D.C.
“The people I meet at these Catholic schools have done a lot for me, and they've just helped me form my faith. The retreats are my favorite part. It's a nice time to just get away, focus on myself, focus on my relationship with God,” Gray said.
She was also a regular altar server at Masses at Georgetown Visitation and was a student ambassador at the school, which is sponsored by the Visitation Sisters.
Gray participated in her school’s civil rights trip for two summers in a row and served as a student leader on the second trip. The trip takes students to Alabama and Georgia for about a week for an immersive learning experience, including visits to different historical sites such as Stone Mountain, where members of the Ku Klux Klan would meet.
“It’s a rare trip, it was something incredibly special. Because when you go down to Alabama (and) Georgia, you learn things you can’t learn sitting here in AP U.S. history, reading from a textbook,” Gray said, adding that the teachers who organized the trip put in a lot of effort. “(They) have dedicated themselves to making this trip be so informative, and they just want us to think, they just want us to learn.”
One of her favorite memories at Georgetown Visitation is from her senior year when she served on the executive board of the Black Women's Society. The society organizes a program that includes a skit with a theme, and this year’s was in the vein of a Miss Universe pageant highlighting different countries students' families are from. Gray, whose family is Haitian, wore a Karabela dress that her grandmother made for her.
“We played music from whatever country, we answered trivia questions,” Gray said. “One of the most important things about the assembly is we want to be informative, we don’t want to just be entertaining. I think people learned a lot.”
Another standout memory was a Welcome Mass for the incoming students, where Gray played guitar.
“I think that moment will probably stand out to me in a couple of years. I'll look back on that moment and think that was awesome… It's one of the most amazing things that I've gotten to do… (I) just got to get up there and play,” Gray said.
Gray plays guitar, piano and African drums in her personal time and continues to set goals for herself. She would like to play five instruments proficiently, and the remaining instruments that she hopes to learn to play include a complete drum kit, the saxophone and violin.
This determination speaks to Gray’s work ethic as she strives to take on more and do well.
“It’s kind of like, I have this right now, let me do it, and then let me do what has to be done next. Some people say I work too much, but I think it’s just like I’m ready for what’s next to come,” Gray said. “I want to enjoy what’s happening now, I do, but there’s so much more that will eventually get my attention, and I want to get to that.”
