“You went back to work at the school you graduated from?”
This question is posed to me quite often when I meet other young professionals, and is usually followed by some kind of remark like, “Are you insane?” When I tell them just how much of my life I actually spent at Front Range Christian School, they are usually even more baffled.
I started at FRCS as a first grader in 2005 (the good ol’ days) and, after spending the majority of my most formative years here, graduated in 2017. After college, I chose to return to Front Range and was graciously given the chance to steward the learning of students in the history classroom until I transitioned into my current administrative role. So, what is it about this place that made me want to come back?
My memories of elementary school are filled with cross-legged story times, multiplication tables, speech meets, science fairs, playing on the playground, crying on the playground, and countless moments of wonder. Junior high brought the joys of sleepovers, sports, and dGroups, along with the perils of braces, locker combinations, and girl drama that leaves you overanalyzing the seating chart at the lunchroom table. And in contrast to the majority of the greater population, I actually loved my high school experience. While those years held many difficult assignments, relational blunders, and very hard choices, they were mainly colored by volleyball games, musicals, student council events, practicum trips, and late nights at the Sonic drive-in with friends who I had known since I was small—friends that felt like family.
For me, all of these formative experiences happened within the FRCS community. With an older sister also in attendance, my family became deeply connected to the school. It wasn’t a surprise to run into one of my parents in the hallway, the gym, or the PAC (though at times, in my peak years of teenage angst, I was not always thrilled to see them). Since I was not involved with club sports, a youth group, or neighborhood friends, my entire life was Front Range Christian School—its people, its spaces, its beliefs. Even during my college years, I remained in close contact with my friends and mentors from Front Range. To this day, they are some of the most important relationships in my life.
As I was growing and changing within these walls, Front Range Christian was also growing and changing. Over the years, I have witnessed this place unfold, stretch, wound, and heal. It is by no means a perfect community, and I will be the first to admit that. Not every student and family had the experience that I had.
However, as someone who has personally walked the path, I am certain of one thing: those who choose to pour into this place will experience an abundance of returns. For the student who commits the best of themself to the classroom, the court, and the stage—our teachers, coaches, and directors will see them, work with them, and call them higher. For the family that shows up to volunteer on field trips, cheer at sporting events, and drink coffee with their fellow parents—our community will show up for them. It is this dynamic that keeps me coming back to this place.
One of the most valuable lessons that I have learned from my time at Front Range Christian School is that you get out of things what you put into them. Through my roles as Director of Student Guidance, dGroup leader, and staff supervisor of Student Leadership Coalition, I strive to encourage this kind of attitude in every student with whom I interact. I hope that our students become the kind of people who commit to their communities, no matter how imperfect they may be, and seek to build them up instead of criticizing and tearing them down. And as a coworker and faculty member, I promise to keep working to make FRCS the kind of place that gives back to its faithful community in abundance.
