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Fifteen years ago, I walked through the front doors of CJA for the first time as a 10-year-old fifth grader. Things looked a little different back then, but things still feel the same today. I remember the first person I met when I walked in – Mr. Diehl, our former Dean of Students and the best Math teacher I’ve ever had. He looked me in my eyes, shook my hand firmly and said, “Welcome to CJA, Mr. Rule,” as he fixed my collar with his left hand. There were two things I felt then: I felt the seriousness of that moment, and I felt like I belonged. That was just the beginning of one of the most impactful relationships I would build in my life. Years later, I still call this place home, and it has been a joy to return here as a coach and staff member to continue to make it home for those who have come after me.
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As an alumnus, I remain grateful for the many people in this community who have helped make my story possible. Our president, Matthew Lynch, always tells me that it was my hard work that afforded me the opportunities I was blessed with. While I agree my journey took a lot of hard work, CJA helped my family and me find opportunities that my hard work may not have awarded me elsewhere.Â
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I know this to be true: you cannot be what you cannot see. The power of belief and opportunity is what makes this place so special. That starts with all that the members of this community – parents, students, teachers, volunteers and benefactors – are doing each day to build the strong foundation each of our students deserve. This foundation – a foundation of love – allows them to dream big, to see new spaces and feel that they belong in them even when the world may have told them they didn’t before. I hope you see that foundation in all that follows below. Please know that we are grateful for all you do to help make it all possible.Â
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Jae Rule (CJA ’13, Development Officer)
Our students have been doing some amazing learning outside of the walls of our school, while also building their relationships with their classmates this school year.
This April, eight of our students visited University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign for the Grainger College of Engineering’s open house. They toured the school and heard from engineering students about projects they are working on. Our students also participated in a Middle School Engineering Design Challenge. Each group had to build the tallest, strongest straw tower in an hour and then present what they created and their results.
Our students ended their day sharing pizza with Luis Tenezaca (CJA ’19), a current sophomore at the Grainger College of Engineering. Luis has been in their shoes and was eager to help them see that his path could be their path, too. This window into a possible future for these bright students is exactly what the CJA family is all about. It brings us all joy to make these connections, and we are grateful to Luis for his time and engagement with our students despite his busy college schedule.
Our 5th- and 6th-grade girls began this trimester by spending two days in Springfield to do some hands-on learning about our state government and its history. With some creative thinking about how to make an overnight trip work and some generosity from the teachers and friends of the school, they made it happen!
Trip highlights included a visit to the Illinois Capitol Buildings, Abraham Lincoln’s library and home, the State Museum and the National Monument of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot. When our students were headed home, the first question they asked was, “Are we going back next year?”
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These are the types of moments that my classmates and I still talk about. They helped us build a brotherhood that we still have today. We enjoyed spending that time together in love, and it brings me great joy to see our girls building a similar sisterhood! As we grow, these experiences and these students’ examples will lead the way for years of sisterhood for all those who follow in their footsteps.
Our 8th graders are inching towards the finish line of their time at CJA, but the learning and memories continue! Thanks to the generosity of the Amicus Foundation, every eighth grader was able to take a trip to Washington DC last month. While there were many fun stops and learning on this trip, the two most memorable stops were Howard University and Arlington National Cemetery.
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When I asked students about their experience at Howard, they spoke about how welcoming the community was and the many ways that students could explore their passions on campus. It was powerful for me to hear that they could see themselves there and that they were already dreaming big dreams about the colleges and universities they hope to attend after high school.
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Our 8th graders also spoke about how much the visit to Arlington National Cemetery impacted them. Vince, who is pictured below, noted: “It is a reminder that these people fought for my freedoms and rights. I have to use those freedoms to help the world around me.”
At CJA, we see the importance of reminding our students of both the endless possibilities of their lives and the hard work and sacrifices that success takes. It is our responsibility to use the gifts that God has given us to make the world around us better.
It has been a blessing to return to CJA and witness all that our students are exploring and accomplishing. We are excited to grow to serve more than 350 students and 430 alumni next year, and this growth will require more teachers and staff to help create more stories like the ones I have just shared. If you know any great teachers, social workers or counselors who would be an excellent fit at CJA, we would love to meet them.
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Another big piece of creating these stories is the tremendous generosity of our committed benefactor community. As a tuition-free school, we rely on our benefactors to sponsor scholarships for each of our students. We are hard at work raising the 8 remaining scholarships we need for our students in the Class of 2029. If you are interested in supporting our young men and women as a scholarship benefactor, please visit our website or contact me at [email protected] for more information.