Friends, I have spent much of today reading and thinking about the nine individuals murdered this past Wednesday at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC. It takes my breath away to think about the horror of the last moments of the lives of Cynthia Hurd, Ethel Lee Lance, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sr., Myra Thompson, Suzy Jackson, Depayne...

Once again this year Crossroads was well-represented in the selection of the SCAA All Conference Teams for Girls Soccer—2015. Selection is conducted by the head coaches in our conference for those players who contributed well to their team’s success for the regular season during the year. Crossroads team had 8 members selected to the SCAA All Conference teams.  The members...

Friends, The 40th Anniversary celebration last Friday for Crossroads was a success! I want to thank all of you who were able to come for spending your time there. Board member, Patty Hagen, donated the space at T-REX, and Heather Lake’s work to make sure that the event was as relaxed as it was celebratory really paid off. Thank you,...

Last week the middle school students spent four days in the Shawnee National Forest hiking, canoeing, and observing the landscape around them. Excursions were made under the guidance of Land for Learning outdoor educators. It is the ninth year the middle school has traveled to this unique biosystem in southern Illinois, home to the largest variety of animal and plant...

Thank You, 2014-2015 Student Council! Many thanks for the hard work of this past year’s Student Council officers and grade representatives. Their leadership and efforts resulted in a very successful Canned Food Drive, Halloween Costume Contest, Spirit Week, Homecoming, Prom, 9th Grade Fun Night, Middle School Dances, Middle School Lock-In, Open Mic Night, Coin Drive for Ferguson, and Field Day...

After the Awards Assembly on Friday, May 15th, students and staff changed into one of eight fabulous t-shirts bearing the mascots of various breakfast cereals and the eight multi-grade teams headed to Forest Park for our annual Field Day. The forecasted rainstorm waited while each team had a turn at Ultimate Frisbee, Kickball, Volleyball, and Capture the Football. Back at...

I am very honored to have been chosen to be one of the few speakers today. I was told my purpose was to speak to you all, but primarily to send a message to my beloved fellow classmates. But, due to my glaring narcissism I decided, forget all of you. I’m gonna write a letter to my future self… Dear...

Meyer’s AP Psychology textbook defines the spotlight effect as “overestimating others’ noticing and evaluating our appearance, performance, and blunders (as if we presume a spotlight shines on us).” Learning this in psychology class confirmed a suspicion I’ve had for a long time: that no one actually cares what we do as much as we think they do. That thought often...

Welcome, class of 2015. Congratulations on getting to this day. You made it! By now most of you have probably heard of my hamster, Hazel. She is adorable, frightening, and the light of my life. I will use her as an extended metaphor throughout this entire speech, so buckle up.  Here we go: Life lessons I’ve learned from my Hamster...

I don’t think I will ever forget the day that Crossroads College Preparatory School became the school that I would attend for the rest of my grade school career. I had to be 11 years old. My voice hadn’t dropped, I still thought girls had coodies, and all that really mattered to me was having fun with my friends. My mother was driving...