Hello, my name is Christopher Tuttle, and I am a graduate of Mater Dei Academy. I'm 28 years old and the eldest of seven children. Until last year, my career was teaching golf in Phoenix, Arizona, but I always felt something drawing me away. I realized that it was God calling me to serve. After much discernment, I decided to pursue the priesthood. Immediately, I felt peace within me. Becoming a priest involves many years and much hard work. I know that if it is God's will and with the help of Our Lady, I can some day be a diocesan priest in Phoenix. I know that the formation I received from Mater Dei Academy affected me enormously, and I'm sure that many vocations will come from this great school. Please pray for them and for me also.
Chris Tuttle, Class of 1997

I am a freshman at Ohio State University and proud alumna of Mater Dei Academy. I really started to appreciate Mater Dei when I started public high school. It was a huge culture shock. The things I heard from the public school kids were not pretty to say the least. I did make some friends at my new school, but it was hard for me to hang out with them because they did things I was taught were wrong. I believe a person’s friends influence who he or she becomes, especially when they are in grade school. I relied on my Mater Dei friends for support to help me not fall in line with the rest of the public school kids. If I didn’t have them I may have become corrupted by the low morals common in public school. In my junior year I transferred to a Catholic high school. My experience at this school, I feel, taught me the most about Mater Dei. My classmates, like me, had all come from Catholic grade schools, however, when the religion teacher would ask a simple question about the Catholic church, I found that most of the time I was the only one with the answer. I hadn’t had a religion class in two years, yet what I learned from Mater Dei never left me. Mater Dei is pretty “old school” and they definitely keep the rules well. We were taught to be reverent during Mass; no eating an hour before communion, and to say prayers together before lunch. We prayed the rosary everyday as a class. At my new school we never prayed before lunch or said the rosary. They never kept us in the habit of attaining grace the way that Mater Dei had. From the conversations that I had from my new friends there, their Catholic grade schools didn’t do it either. Mater Dei taught me the importance of the Consecration and how to prepare to receive the Holy Eucharist. I couldn’t understand my fellow classmate’s ignorance of it. My new school did nothing to fill them in either. My new school offered confessions about twice a year; Mater Dei offered them a little bit less than once a month. When Mater Dei offered confession it was the day that we had Mass at our school. This was so that we would be prepared to receive Communion that day. I had friends at my new school who hadn’t been to confession since they had their first confession in second grade and still they went to Communion. I also had friends that went to Communion who hadn’t gone to church in years. This is when I became so thankful for Mater Dei. I know that I do not always make the right decisions, but I do almost always know what the right decision is and what the wrong one is. I am not saying that I am a saint, and I am not saying that Mater Dei produces saints. However, I believe Mater Dei gave me the information I need to become a saint, it is my job to use the information I was given in the right way.
Angie Shea, Class of 2006

I have been going to Mater Dei Academy for the past 8 years and it was the school where I developed my priestly vocation through Mrs. Eppick. As one of my friends remembers from our first year at the school, Mrs. Eppick was principal and while she was giving us a tour of the school, she showed us the religion room where she hangs the cassocks for servers to wear at school Masses. She asked us “ How many of you boys are going to be altar servers when you get older?” Everyone raised his hand except for me. I said “ I’m going to be a priest” and she laughed and said, “Oh, put your hand up!” So even back then I knew I had a calling and it still is there, an indescribable feeling somewhere deep in my soul. I have a lot of people to thank for my vocation and that I have been able to keep it, but I especially want to thank Mrs. Eppick. She has been my favorite religion teacher for eight years and and has helped me to learn more about my faith and prepared me for the sacraments. If I had not gone to Mater Dei, I would not have known Mrs. Eppick as well as I do and had as many stories and sayings of hers as I do and I’m sure all of the people in my class will agree with that!
Tyler Carter, 8th Grade, Class of 2011

All six of my children have had the benefit of a Catholic education at Mater Dei Academy. My youngest is graduating this year. I don’t know where to begin to explain how much Mater Dei has meant to my family. First of all, I was not raised Catholic. I am self-employed and spend little time at home. If my children had not gone to Mater Dei, I would not have had the time or the knowledge to teach them myself. But Mater Dei has taught them their faith very well. When my older kids graduated from Mater Dei and went to public high school, they stood out from the other kids. They knew who they were. It wasn’t long before they became unwitting evangelists and were impressing others by their strength of character and faith. They were prepared early for the difficult decisions they were faced in high school. I believe that this early formation is crucial because by the time children are in high school they are naturally rebellious. If they have a firm foundation, they are much more likely to make better choices. The sacrifices we made by sending our children to this wonderful school pale in comparison to the enrichment it has given to their lives and to mine. Do not hesitate to choose Mater Dei Academy for your children.
Barb Shea, mother of 6