Alexis Cammack ‘19 Thrives thanks to Support and Guidance from Pres

By KRISTIN BECK ‘05

Presentation Academy

For Alexis Cammack ’19, Presentation Academy was her home away from home, the place where she learned to channel her chatterbox toward speaking out against injustices and pursuing a career in law.

“Home is not just a place where you sleep but rather it can be a place where family and friends gather in mutual love of each other and the space being occupied,” she said in her Tower Award speech. “That is Pres for me, home.  Outside of being in the building for more time than I was in my actual house, the bonds I made with my fellow Pres sisters, teachers, and faculty are truly the kind of love that makes up a home.”

At Pres, students are not only excited to come to school but they are not afraid to ask for help from their teachers and their friends. Pres offers a safe space for its students – “a chance to be heard and seen for the person you are, a chance to dream and become more than whatever box society has placed you in,” Alexis said.

“Pres offers a close knit, 8:1 ratio of teachers to students. Many could find this daunting because small numbers induce unwanted attention from your teacher. However, for many students at Pres, for myself, the small ratio was exactly what I needed to boost confidence and fall in love with learning.”

Alexis said she has always been headstrong and outspoken, receiving several elementary school report cards with the words “social butterfly” and “talkative” on them. “So, as many of you could imagine, the raging hormones of a teenage girl combined with a chatty Cathy mouth needed some guidance,” she said. “Pres gave me exactly that and led me straight to my purpose. My counselors, teachers, and the administration guided me into channeling my personality traits and characteristics into a passion for helping individuals who are less fortunate than I. Through extracurricular organizations such as Kentucky Youth Assembly and Kentucky United Nations Assembly, I channeled my social butterfly personality and found a love for government and policy work.”

Downtown Louisville is home to both the houseless population as well as major corporations, attracting a diverse crowd, she said. Witnessing the unbalanced power dynamics of the city firsthand prompted her to write and publish “Dear Oppression” as a member of the Presentation’s Senior Independent Program. The book focused on the struggles marginalized individuals face in terms of discrimination and oppression within our society. 

During her high school and college career, Alexis has held several leadership positions both in school and in the community.

“All of this to say, going to law school, being a lawyer for the people, and my aspirations to hold political office were written in the walls at Pres for me. I am nothing without the experiences and guidance from my Pres community, experiences made possible by the financial support of all of you here in the crowd tonight. Without the financial support of you all in the crowd tonight, there are many students like myself who would not be able to experience Pres. Catholic education is not cheap, we all know, but for many it is a chance to gain a better education and more opportunities they otherwise would not be exposed to.”

Alexis attended Nativity Academy, an independent, private Catholic middle school for the education of under served students. Coming to Pres was financially burdensome for her family. “My mom spent hours with Pres staff filling out paperwork for financial aid in order to send me here,” she said. “I thank her, as she is in the audience, for believing in the purpose of Pres, knowing this is where I needed to be, and making every sacrifice imaginable to send me here. However, some families aren’t able to make those sacrifices to gain a better education for their children. Selfishly, I believe that everyone should come to Pres because of the culture it cultivates, but realistically, I know that is not the case.”

By donating to Presentation’s financial assistance fund through Tower Awards, more current and future Pres Girls will have access to funding that alleviates some of this financial burden. “Pres stands tall today because of your support,” she said. “Myself and every Pres Girl before and after me thank you deeply for this support as it has helped us in many shapes and forms get where we are today.”

Alexis thanked her Pres family for not only shaping her into the woman she is today but for believing in her and pushing her to strive for greatness in every aspect of her life. “I am the strong-minded public servant I am today because of the love, support, guidance and community that Presentation Academy gave me.”

Some of her Pres sisters were in attendance at Tower Awards, and Alexis thanked them for their unwavering support and love and for always having her best interest at heart. “Thank you for coming to Pres with me; for continuously reminding me that stepping outside of my comfort zone allows room for growth; and always standing beside me for that journey. Pres brought us all together and has been at our core ever since. The environment produces strong-minded women free of competition and jealousy and only leaves room for sisterhood - our friendship is proof of what that sisterhood can do for individuals.”

Alexis challenged the audience to raise a record number for financial aid.

“Whether you are new to the Pres mission or faithful supporters, this school teaches and nurtures the next generation of change makers, artists, [and] professionals. I urge you to be a part of that change by donating today.”