The Joy of Julian 20 Years Later

With great joy today, I mark 20 years since my Julian 8th Grade Graduation and party like it's 2005 all over again.  More than just a ceremony to signal the end of my time as a Julian student, it was an event in which I celebrated heartily the experience at Julian and the enormously positive impact it had on me.  I have often shared how my years at Julian truly shaped me to be the person I am today.  Those years engaged my interests and talents at a high level.  They fostered in me a sense of patriotism and what it means to contribute to the USA as a citizen.  And, very importantly, those Julian years defined me in shaping my faith.  That's why I join the joy of this anniversary with today's Solemnity of Pentecost, when the reality of the Risen Christ was poured out on the Church through the descent of the Holy Spirit.

As I reflect on my years at Julian, I realize that the Holy Spirit was at work in marvelous ways within me.  More than just going to school, the Holy Spirit led me through a process of sanctification so that I would be driven to live with great purpose in my pursuits.  Even growing in knowledge and doing my civic duty came under the Spirit's power of sanctification.  And it all makes sense in light of a certain detail in Acts 2, which describes the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church and then St. Peter's sermon about what happened to the throngs gathered.  He mentioned toward the beginning that it was 9 o'clock in the morning, the same moment each school day began at Julian, a great sign of the Holy Spirit's work in me.

Starting at Julian was particularly momentous because I was in the first group of 6th graders and on our first day of school, we walked into a brand-new building.  Even with a certain amount of anxiety I felt starting 6th grade, I think that beneath my consciousness, there was a sense of excitement starting at a new school in a newly finished building.  I would be recreating myself while the District 97 experience was undergoing a recreation with two new middle school buildings now housing grades 6-8, and my classmates and I were on the frontlines of forging a new path forward.  As the Class of 2005 upon our graduation, we distinguished ourselves as the first to attend Julian for 3 years.

During middle school, I engaged my academic interests at a higher level.  Over the past few months, I have celebrated the 20th anniversary of my participation in the National Geographic Bee.  I first became intensely interested in the subject back in 2nd grade, probably in large part owing to my teacher Mrs. LoCoco's "Where is Waldo Game?", to add to the excitement of traveling the country with the computer game, Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego? Amtrak version.  I enjoyed learning about the subject through lots of library reading, and I came to see it as a way for me to embrace the wider world.  I'm glad the National Geographic Bee offered an opportunity for young people like me to exhibit our appreciation for the world, its cultures, and its people.  Ultimately, I wasn't just having a good time filling my head with geographical knowledge through reading and other resources.  I came to understand our world better, including places far beyond home.  And I've been able to embrace new places I go with all the travels I've done.  Participating in the competition also allowed me to go in depth with the subject beyond what happened in class.  Indeed, the competition was a culmination point that helped me see this knowledge as something purposeful, and gave me an outlet to express it, as did other competitions.

And in some respects, geographic knowledge helped me appreciate the United States as a whole, just as much as watching Liberty's Kids throughout my 6th grade school year.  Appreciating my place in this society inspired me to get involved, and I'm glad that serving on Student Council for two years gave me that outlet.  Being on the staff of the Jayhawk Flyer newspaper was also an outlet for me to channel my creative energies in writing about current events from the perspective of Julian.

Over the course of time at Julian, I saw that it had so much to offer me, especially beyond the classroom, and I enriched my experience by embracing it.

I indeed had so much to celebrate on June 8 as I concluded my time as a Julian student.  And 20 years later, I still have so much to celebrate, with the anticipation building for some time when I recognized these occasions would share the date of June 8.  Similarly, there has been a buildup to Pentecost Sunday, especially since May 30:  Leading up to Pentecost is a 9-Day Novena period.  We hearken back to the days after the Risen Christ ascended and the apostles waited for Christ's promise to be manifested.

This year, the Pentecost Novena began on May 30, and it was so fitting that I returned to Julian Middle School that day as a presenter for Career Exploration Day.  After participating as a presenter last year, I was eager to do so again in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of my graduation.  So I quickly signed up when I got an email in April inviting me to return.

Fresh back from my East Coast vacation, I was eager to relive the experience of my Julian days by walking from beloved 1036 to Julian.

Right around 11 AM, I arrived at Julian's office.  After the sign-in process, I went to the Commons for lunch, just like in my days there.  The school and its PTO provided sub sandwiches along with drinks and other snacks.  I enjoyed the company of some other presenters before we got a welcome from the organizers, Ms. Court and Ms. Barlich, who then said we could go to our rooms for set-up.  During lunch, I was glad to see my 7th grade science teacher, Mr. Vincenti, who I also saw later as I left the school.

Between 11:45 and 12:00, I left the commons and walked with upstairs to room B408 to set up, and I got helpful assistance from Paul, an IT staffperson.  Presenting in that room was special because it was in the 4th floor B-wing, where I had my 8th grade core classes.

Here I am standing in the hallway of the 4th floor B-wing of Julian where I had my 8th grade classes.  Gina, a fellow presenter across the hall and a fellow parishioner, photographed me while we had a break between presentations.

I was really in my element as a presenter because I had the chance to interact with Julian students, and it is much in line with my experience teaching middle school Religious Education.  Opportunities like these presentations reinvigorate me in what I do as I take a step back to think about the nature of my work and then share it with others.

I started my presentations by showing photos of myself from my yearbooks and even some video footage of myself from the 2005 National Geographic Bee School Round.  Then I showed how my name still lives on at Julian in the plaque for my graduation class in the first floor hallway and in a tile I had inscribed in the Julian mural outside the school building as a way for me to offer tribute to my extraordinary Julian years.  I was eager to show how connected I feel to Julian by illustrating to the students how I was once in their place.

I then shared a little about my path into librarianship as a career before illustrating what I do at work behind the scenes with the catalog, revealing the "Staff View" button in the public Aspen catalog display of the SWAN libraries which shows a MARC record, the focus of my cataloging work, and describing the process.

As an activity, I had them consider different options for how to catalog the book Mellon vs. Churchill, a book I did at work and which I had to give much thought to when deciding how to classify it.

I was intrigued to see the variety of ideas the students had as a response for where to put the book. And, of course, I enjoyed the questions the students asked me.  I was particularly delighted when a 6th grader asked me what I like most about my work.  Other students decided to jump on my points of connection with Julian and Irving to ask me about my time as a student back in the day.  Speaking with the 6th graders reminded me of my cousin Ava, a 6th grader in this school year that's concluding.

I presented to one 8th grade group.  I was very glad at the end of my presentation to offer them, the class of 2025, my congratulations on behalf of the class of 2005, since they were just days away from their graduation on June 3, and I offered them high-fives at the end of our time period.

As that group entered the room, one student recognized me from my involvement in Religious Education and delightedly greeted me, which prompted a question from her classmate about how she knows me.  Not far behind her was one of the students from my RE class this past year, and it was a delight to see him, too.

Later in the afternoon, after I finished presenting to a group, another one of my students from RE class this year entered the room and greeted me, remarking that she heard me talking from out in the hallway.  There was much joy in these encounters.  Teaching RE has been such an extraordinary experience for me, and through it, I have developed such wonderful relationships with the students.  It is a joy that the students feel affirmed by what they experience in class and three of them were glad to see me present at Julian on that day.  Indeed, I'm in my element when I teach RE, and I felt so much of that energy when I was there on Career Exploration day.

Here I am in action during my presentation.  This photo was taken by the teacher of my final presentation group.

So much of this celebration today is illuminated by faith. As ironic as it might sound, being at Julian brought me alive in faith so powerfully.  And as I said in the previous paragraph, I'm in my element in RE because it has been an outlet for me to channel how I was enhanced during my Julian years.

What I experienced in the halls of Julian brought me in tune with what's most worthwhile in life that I experienced outside those halls.  It's a great irony that attending a public middle school helped me appreciate my faith more deeply.  Oak Park likes to tout its diversity, and I experienced its diversity in an enhanced way when I started 6th grade at Julian.  Getting to know so many Jewish people and their religion and culture helped me turn inwardly and reflect on myself more, and it enhanced my faith.  It reminds me of a Word on Fire program I listened to recently in which Bishop Barron reflects on multiculturalism.  He says that unity allows us to truly experience diversity in a way that is edifying.  I know that reality because of how my faith came alive in middle school.

I am so blessed the journey of my faith has led me back to the classroom to teach middle school Religious Education, where I am constantly reconnecting with what helped me appreciate faith at that time, as I hand it on.  Perhaps in that way, teaching RE has made middle school a living experience that persists.

To celebrate the end of my time at Julian, I wore red on Wednesday, June 8, 2005.  

I asked Mom to photograph me before I set off on the mile-long walk from 1036 Clarence to Julian for the final time as a Julian student.  Since then, I have walked the route many times as a way to reminisce.

Later, at the graduation ceremony, I wore a red cap and gown.  

Mom or Dad photographed me before we left for the graduation ceremony.

A few months later, on Saturday, October 15, 2005, I stood before Bishop Kane in red vestments, and he sealed me with the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation.

Today, Sunday, June 8, 2025, I celebrate Pentecost by wearing red. As I celebrate this doubly special occasion, I reflect on the role of red in representing how the Holy Spirit was at work in me during my Julian years and how it continues to be so, marveling at these great works.

Here I am posing today, Pentecost Sunday 2025, at the pew where I sat at my Confirmation Mass. Thanks to parishioner Rosemarie Nowicki for getting this photo.