2024 Catholic Schools Week Supplement
Catholic high school creates a life-defining transformation on teenager
Playing the role of Donkey in a scene with Shrek in the 2023 spring musical at Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School in Indianapolis, Tanner McCormick-Messer, right, shares the stage with Andrew Causemaker, who graduated from Scecina in 2023. (Submitted photo)
By John Shaughnessy
There’s a poise about Tanner McCormick-Messer, a quiet confidence that’s marked by touches of humility and humor that shine through in a flowing conversation, especially when he smiles and says, “I used to not talk at all, but look at me now!”
The transformation of teenagers during four years of a Catholic high school can be life-defining in a number of ways, and 17-year-old Tanner quickly credits Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School in Indianapolis for having that impact on him.
For someone who says he didn’t talk much at all before reaching high school, he’s now using his voice in a number of creative ways.
A senior, he’s heavily involved in the theater department at Scecina as an actor and a vocalist. He represents the school in statewide music contests. And he performs outside the school, in community theater. Then there’s his involvement in student council and the National Honor Society, plus he uses his poise and polish to serve as an ambassador for Scecina.
“My experience at Scecina has been really great,” he says. “It’s a tight community that has helped me make improvements in my life. Because of Scecina, I have branched out to so many things. I’m a lot more involved in theater, but before that, I had never done a show ever.”
He had also never been outside of Indiana until he made a trip to New York City in his junior year with other members of the school’s theater department.
“It was probably the best week of my life,” he says with a smile. “Just experiencing things outside of Indiana because I’ve never really gone out of state. That was my first time. And just getting a diverse new look on things into the real world was really helpful for me. And it was really beautiful to come together with my fellow classmates on the trip.”
As much as he has accomplished and experienced at Scecina, Tanner shines the spotlight instead on his senior classmates and the influence they have had on him during the past four years.
“I really like my class,” he says. “They have taught me patience, taught me leadership, taught me diversity. They’re a really nice bunch.”
One of the qualities he especially appreciates about the school and his class is how diverse it is and how there’s a common connection at the same time.
“There’s so much diversity when it comes to faith and religion there,” Tanner says. “Even though it’s a Catholic school, not everyone is Catholic. But even though there are so many differences in faith, there are no differences in morality. We all think the same about the common good of each other.”
That approach guides Tanner in his relationships with his fellow students. The words flow naturally from him as he says, “I just try to be kind, to do little things for them. When I appreciate them, I tell them. When I think they’re doing good, I’ll tell them. When I think they need help, I’ll help them.” †
