Lancaster Catholic High School (LCHS) is evolving and changing with society, all the while staying true to its vision and mission. It's a strategy that's designed to provide the best possible educational experience for its students.

"There was a generation at Lancaster Catholic High School that was on the secretarial track," said Kyla Hockley, LCHS' president for the past two years. "At that point in our history, our females were on that path because that's what the community needed. We're constantly asking ourselves, 'What does Lancaster County need from our students?' We hope (the new multimedia learning center) is a way for our students to connect with organizations they may not have connected with before."

Recently, LCHS, which is located at 650 Juliette Ave., Lancaster, created its new multimedia learning center as an avenue for enhancing and elevating learning, teaching and student creativity. The modern, technology-driven initiative was introduced to the public during an open house on Jan. 29.

"We took things that were happening in smaller pockets, pulled them together and we've built a program around them," said Hockley. "We're giving them the space they deserve. In a previous generation, we acquired knowledge from books and wrote papers about it. In this generation, we acquire knowledge in many different forms and turn it into many different projects to demonstrate what we've learned."

A reconfigured library has provided the space for the state-of-the-art multimedia learning center. The $2 million project features a digital illustration lab, a 3D computer lab and a broadcasting studio for the student-produced "The LCHS Morning Show."

" 'The LCHS Morning Show' had been in existence, and the work had been taking place in a studio in an old classroom where we had a piece of green fabric hanging on the wall," said Hockley. "Now there's a covered wall, so you can be totally immersed in a green environment. Now everything has a more modern and technological environment."

The new multimedia learning center is being used by both classes and extracurricular activity clubs.

"We're trying to tap into the skills of students," said Hockley. "The students in these classes and clubs are producing material for our marketing. We're trying to give them real-world experience. Those become valuable skills that will cross industries."

"This is putting tools in the hands of students," Hockley continued. "It really becomes an avenue for telling stories and helping students tell stories and reach their peers. It is absolutely in line with our mission. It absolutely breathes life into our mission."

LCHS is projecting that as many as half of its 475 students - mainly upperclassmen - will directly benefit from the multimedia learning center's capabilities.

"It's a very diverse group," said Hockley. "It's for people who want to be sports photographers and reporters to people who want to do editing to people who are the talent and want to be on camera. Media isn't going anywhere."

"One of the things that amazes me is to see what students are doing in the 3D design lab," added Hockley. "That level of creativity and thought just amazes me."

Established in 1928, LCHS is one of more than 32 schools across 15 central Pennsylvania counties served by the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg. LCHS' stated mission is "to form students who are intellectually astute, passionately faithful and socially responsible."

"There's absolutely competition in the private school community," said Hockley. "But I'd say there's even more competition from good public schools. Academically, we've got to make sure we're on par. I think Lancaster Catholic will always stand on the community we build within the walls. People here continue to care about you long after you were a student in a classroom. Students need to know they belong to something. It's what we've always done."

"Lancaster Catholic is focused on ensuring the academic product is what this generation needs," continued Hockley. "The value of the generations who came before us inspires us to move forward. This is an internal moment like, 'We've got to keep advancing.'"

For additional information, go to http://www.lchsyes.org.