My name is Claire O’Keefe, and I am currently a senior at Front Range. During my twelve years here, I’ve grown to love this community deeply. I walked in these doors as an extremely shy and timid first grader, and in a couple of months I will graduate and leave this place knowing how to serve as a Godly leader with full confidence in the woman that God has created me to be. Over and over again, the programs at Front Range have pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me to develop these lifelong skills. Leadership roles, specifically in BLC [Becoming Like Christ] and SLC [Student Leadership Coalition], have given me the ability to identify when a student culture needs change, as well as appreciate and preserve the good and beautiful aspects that already exist.

This year, I’ve had the honor of being the president of SLC. This is my fourth year in SLC, and I can confidently say that this class has been the most influential in shaping how I view leadership. Since the team is made up of other high school students, I’ve had to learn how to navigate conflict in a healthy and respectful way, and balance being a leader with being a friend. I have also learned that good leaders must have a vision, and, more importantly, they must equip the people they are leading with the skills and confidence to accomplish that goal. The Student Leadership team is always looking for ways to improve our student culture. Sometimes the solutions to the issues we raise are concrete and easy to take steps toward. Other times, solutions are more ambiguous and take a lot of extra time and thought. Right now, SLC is working on five different improvement plans. We have split into small teams to identify and tackle problems within our school culture that don’t have a simple solution. No matter how hard the process is, having the power to voice what needs to be changed, and then take the steps needed to change it, is such a unique and exciting opportunity, especially as a student. Being the Student Leadership president has developed so many skills in me that I will take into college and the rest of my life.

While bringing change to the student culture is a good and necessary thing, I also want to focus on the positive aspects of Front Range that I hope to preserve. One of my favorite things about FRCS is that the students and teachers are dedicated to discipling one another. Teachers are always seeking out ways to pour into their student’s lives on and off campus. It is clear that they don’t just care about the grade we make in their class, they care about who we are as people. They desire to watch us grow in our love for the Lord and others. In high school discipleship groups [dGroups], which take place once a week, teachers take time out of their busy schedules to invest in a small group of students. Just the other week my dGroup leaders invited us girls over to their house for brunch. We spent hours eating good food, laughing, and simply talking about life. This kind of student-teacher relationship is unique to Front Range, and something that I am beyond grateful for in my time here.

In my BLC class, I am able to take all that my teachers have poured into me, and pour it into junior high [students]. Front Range is unlike a lot of other schools in that the 7th-12th graders all share the same building. At first, a lot of students might see this as a negative thing, and I certainly did too. However, in the past couple of years I have come to see this as such a blessing, and an opportunity to be a mentor to those younger than me. BLC is a class where juniors and seniors learn about Christlike leadership, and then get to lead a discipleship group with seventh and eighth graders. This creates an amazing dynamic within our school culture because not only are teachers discipling high schoolers, but high schoolers are also discipling junior high schoolers. Leading a small group of junior high girls each week has been the highlight of my senior year. Whether I am praying with them, diving into God’s Word, or playing silly games, I get to pour into their lives, and use my own experiences to guide them throughout the year. I am always trying to remind them that their identity is in Christ, and it has been amazing to watch them start to believe that. BLC stands for Becoming Like Christ, and that is exactly what we are trying to do. By studying Jesus’ time on earth, I have learned the importance of humility and service within leadership. Jesus made himself nothing. He spent time with the lowly and the despised. Like Christ, who knelt down to wash his disciples feet (John 13:5), Godly leadership requires a posture of servanthood. This has been modeled for me every day in my leadership classes, and in the attitude of the teachers around me. Because of Front Range, I have had so many chances to get my hands dirty and use my time to serve, lead, and disciple those around me. I will always be grateful for those opportunities, and I can’t wait to see what tasks await me next!