Alumni Spotlight – Josie Balistreri ’22
Throughout her time at Dominican High School, Josie Balisteri ’22 strove to develop in her academic, spiritual, and co-curricular pursuits. Josie was an honor roll student, a National Merit Scholarship finalist, and was named the valedictorian for the Dominican High School Class of 2022. Outside of the classroom, Josie was involved with Campus Ministry, robotics, and was a member of the Dominican cross country and track team. During her senior year, Josie was the Philip Dentice Award recipient and was one of the five Sinsinawa Core Values Award winners.
Josie is currently a freshman at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.
Q: How is your first year at Georgetown University going?
JB: My first year at Georgetown has been amazing! It’s a lot of fun meeting different people and seeing different things. I really enjoy my classes. I was prepared for how rigorous they would be. At times, I find them easier than some of the things I did at Dominican. I really like visiting the museums and seeing all the history in Washington D.C. I feel like I created a sense of community at Georgetown pretty quickly because I knew what that felt like at Dominican.
Q: Your major is International Political Economy. How did your time at Dominican prepare you for the college workload?
JB: I’m very prepared, especially with the coursework and the amount of homework we had at Dominican. My assignments and tests are structured the same way. I took several Advanced Placement and concurrent enrollment courses at Dominican and had almost a full year of college credits transfer to Georgetown. Something incredible that Dominican did was they kept us in person instead of virtual learning. I feel more comfortable in social situations and in classrooms than some of my peers.
Q: How did your time at Dominican help you in social settings and meeting new people?
JB: Dominican pushes you into a lot of different environments and does it in a way where you feel comfortable and supported the whole time. Once I got to Georgetown, I felt very comfortable going out in the community and trying different clubs. I joined the yearbook staff. I wrote a brief for Moot Court. I joined a running club. I might not have taken advantage of all those opportunities had I not felt supported at Dominican. Dominican offers so many options for students to get involved.
Q: How important is the faith-based education at Dominican High School?
JB: The faith-based education at Dominican really helps you figure out who you are and what you value most. You can rely on your faith when you have to make a tough decision. I’ve been in Catholic education my whole life. Having that Catholic identity and strong values are very important. They help you create your own identity. The Catholic values I learned at Dominican are still a huge part of me. They help me decide what kind of issues I want to research. They help me make good choices.
Q: How did Dominican help you become the person you are today and the person you hope to be in the future?
JB: Dominican helped me find a very grounded sense of morals and helped me figure out who I wanted to be as a person. Dominican helped me build character that is connected to my faith and to the real world. This has allowed me to expand my horizons and learn a lot of new things. Dominican really supports you in high school and helps you find your own identity as a person. You feel confident moving into the real world. With Dominican’s support, I am looking forward to what I’ll be able to do next!
