L.C-K.

LUCY CASSELL-KELLEY

“Coming into Community, I was a really shy person. I was really, really quiet and I wouldn’t raise my hand in class. I kind of kept my head down and just did my work but as we went online and then came back into person, my junior year, I came out of my shell. I think what really helped me find my voice was forum. Forum is really special to me and I love it so much. I’m in Tracy’s forum and she really gives the students a lot of opportunities to lead so as I started my junior year, she gave me a lot of chances to make mistakes and not do well leading an activity or talk really quietly in front of the whole class. But it just allowed me to become a leader, when I would have never seen myself as a leader before. She let me help, plan and organize forum activities. It gave me the chance to talk to new people and feel comfortable speaking in front of a class. That helped me in all other avenues of my high school experience — I felt more comfortable. And I joined journalism that year and was able to feel comfortable talking to editors about my articles and doing interviews, and I also felt more comfortable in math. I felt ready to succeed and kind of go off into my own thing. I felt comfortable enough to take more advanced classes, raise my hand and make mistakes. Community gave me a voice when I felt like I didn’t have one.”

T.G.

Taylor Gaies

“At Community I know that I always have a support system to fall back on, but I also get to have independence. Teachers here are always willing to help and I’ve never been told no by a teacher and you just get a safe feeling with the teachers here and get to have a close knit relationship. The teachers here truly care. I love my relationships with my teachers and I love being able to know everyone. At bigger high schools that wouldn’t be possible. My sophomore year because of COVID I really struggled online, and I really struggled with asking for help. I was really struggling with math, and it was Michelle Yager who really helped me. She really taught me that it’s okay to ask for help and you’re not dumb if you ask for help. I think, depending on who you are, whether you’re very academically based or very artistic you have a place here. You learn to grow into a community. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made coming here. It just feels like home. When I was looking at colleges, it was really important to me that I wanted it to feel like Community because it has been so helpful for me, mentally but also academically. So I really want to know my teachers and not just be a number in their class.”