Faith, Academics, and Community – these are the three pillars of the House System that have supported Archbishop Carroll High School for a decade now. When Carroll students step foot on campus, we’re called by name to take part in their House. Within these Houses is where a Carroll student becomes a Carroll Patriot and learns to use faith, academics, and community to become a better part of the world. My name is Ella Westgerdes, and Carroll’s House System inspired me to be a true Patriot through the communities we build and lead.

Allow me to set a scene: children are gathered around a table where they ask their counterparts to crack jokes and tell stories as their guardian pleads with them to clean up their mess. I’m sure that this scene might be reminiscent of your times of childhood, gathered beside your brothers and sisters, but it is also exactly what a day in Family Room looks like. When we call it “Family Room”, we mean it. Spending every day with the same students for four years can make you feel like they are your siblings.

When I talk to students of other schools, they seem surprised that Carroll gives up a half hour of precious time every day for the House System. I don’t think it should be surprising at all. I formed little families throughout the school with my friends, in my classes, and with teammates. None of these little families reflected the bond of a true, sometimes chaotic, family like our times in Family Room. Watching your classmates grow up and flourish at Carroll is truly a gift. It’s no secret that a lot of transformation happens between freshman and senior year, and I am so proud of my family room brothers and sister– Addison, Preston, Blake and Jack– for the Patriots they have become.

Not only does the House System provide comfort while at school, it helps us apply skills we learn in class to the community. Mr. Todd Tayloe and Mrs. Toni (Hemmert) Weitz ‘86, our Family Room Mentors, can vouch for me when I say that I was quiet and reserved as a freshman. Scared to seem too eager or stand out, I sat in the corner and only participated if necessary. After I realized that my House was there to support, not judge, I fully embraced Baltimore House. Soon enough, I became a Captain and tried my best to make Baltimore a place where students truly felt like they had a family. In other words, we made our Baltimore House a Baltimore Home.

The House System provides a space that students can call their home base. We grow our faith through service and prayer, practicing Catholic Social Teachings and bringing comfort to marginalized groups outside of the Carroll community. We support each other academically in helping tutor our family room classmates on academic days and keep each other accountable. And finally, we build communities that bring students of all different grades, sports, clubs, and academic abilities together to create chaotic, unique Family Rooms. I know that I will use the skills that I gained and the love that I learned in my next steps, always being a Carroll Patriot at heart.

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of Reflections.  Click here to read more stories from Reflections.