My name is Lucia Ristvey, (formerly Raffaelisová). I began my studies at GYMES in 2013 and successfully completed them with my leaving examinations in 2018. During the first three years our class teacher was Mrs Mervová, a Salesian sister. She was later succeeded by Mrs Lehotai. Our group consisted mainly of girls who had already known one another from primary school, and many of us were also active as animators in the Salesian centre. Among them were Katka Rendošová, Any Petrovská (formerly Kaňuchová), Bejka Lešková (formerly Micheľová), Lucka Kotrčová (formerly Duľová), Monika Hricová (formerly Baloghová) and others.
After GYMES my next steps led me to the Faculty of Arts at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, where I began studying psychology. After five demanding but meaningful years I successfully completed my studies, and my goal was to enter professional practice, specifically in the field of child psychology, since I had already developed a close relationship with children during my time as an animator in secondary school. After finishing my studies at UPJŠ I was accepted to the Centre for Counselling and Prevention on Karpatská Street in Košice, where I worked mainly in diagnosing children and young people and conducting preventive group sessions at the primary and secondary schools assigned to my care. It was an interesting and demanding job that has real significance in today’s world.

After some time, however, I felt that I would like to try something different for a while, though still connected with children. My experience was enriched by several months at the primary school on Bernolákova 18, where I worked as a school educator, which reminded me very much of my time as an animator with the Salesians. When the school year ended, another opportunity for change appeared, the chance to work as a school psychologist. This opportunity became reality in September last year, when I began working at the primary school on Gemerská 2 and two months later also at the private grammar school on Dneperská 1. In this role I found a fulfilment of my professional aspirations, working with classes through group activities while also conducting individual sessions with pupils who need additional support. As for the Salesian environment, my years as an animator naturally developed into a form of service to the community. For example, I am involved in a project where we organise monthly evenings for young people, both secondary school and university students, and I also take part in several smaller opportunities to help within our community.

In my life I try to pursue goodness and joy, in whatever form they may take. Sometimes I succeed more, sometimes less, as it often happens in life. It could be said that I follow the motto “Live here and now”, although sometimes I too build castles in the air, and that is perfectly all right.

If you had to decide again, would you choose GYMES once more?

I know the answer to that question clearly: definitely yes. Not only because of the level of education, which could sometimes be demanding but taught us all the more, but also because of the people I had the opportunity to meet and the experiences I gained, both during ordinary school days and on class trips.

How did you perceive the atmosphere at school during your studies?

That is a very good question, because I experienced several different phases of atmosphere. At the beginning of my studies, when we were first-year students, the oldest students in the five-year bilingual programme were only in their third year. There were therefore far fewer students in the school and the atmosphere felt more intimate and family-like. Holy Mass was celebrated in the chapel, while others filled the corridor as well, but we still all managed to fit. Our matriculation ceremony took place in the corridor in front of the staff office, surrounded by older students, and we competed in humorous activities. For example, we had to blow a table tennis ball across the table towards our opponent while blindfolded, and after a while someone poured flour over us from above so that we were completely covered in white. Over time the school grew, with more classes and year groups, and suddenly I sometimes found it difficult to recognise new faces. Even though it was no longer quite so personal, this later period also brought many beautiful moments, new friendships and the feeling that although there were now many more of us, we were still one community, the GYMES community.

Have any of your friendships from GYMES lasted until today?

Yes, thankfully they have, and I am very grateful for that. They are the friendships that began back in primary school and continued through secondary school, or even blossomed more fully during those years. They are exactly the same girls I mentioned earlier in my profile, with whom I still meet most often today.

How did you choose your future direction and seminars at GYMES?

I chose my seminars based on my plans for further study. Already during secondary school I felt drawn towards psychology, and I enjoyed literature connected with that field. I therefore looked at which subjects were required for admission to university. At the same time, these were also subjects that I genuinely enjoyed studying at school.

Did GYMES also help you grow spiritually?

I am not sure I can fully assess how much influence GYMES itself had on my spiritual life, because that aspect of my life was also strongly supported by my involvement with the Salesians. However, I can say with a clear conscience that the environment at GYMES and the values present there certainly helped my faith grow and helped me choose God each day, because the environment and the people around us make a great difference. Even the simple possibility of going to the chapel to pray when I needed silence and reflection was sometimes more than enough. I am very grateful for that.

What advice would you give to current students?

I would advise them to enjoy these years fully, because they are among the best years of life. I would also encourage them to build strong and lasting friendships and to begin exploring different possibilities for their future vocation already during their studies. They should not be afraid to try various opportunities that may allow them to experience what their future profession might look like.

How did you deal with moments when you felt unsuccessful or experienced failure during your studies, and what did you learn from them?

At first those moments were very difficult, perhaps especially because until then I had not had much experience with failure. In particular, during mathematics in my second or third year I realised that it was no longer enough to study only before a test or to look at solved examples. I understood that if I did not want to remain among the weakest in the class, I would need to make a greater effort and truly work at it. I began attending extra lessons, solving more exercises and practising the principles more consistently. In the end I managed to improve my grade by two levels by the end of the year, which was a wonderful feeling.