Jim Elliot's top graduate believes challenge produces reward
Jim Elliot Christian High School senior Jessica Monroe knows that the best things in life usually take a lot hard work.
Judging by her accomplishments in only three years at the school, Monroe’s hard work is definitely paying off.
En route to Northwest Nazarene University in Idaho, Monroe takes with her a $5,000 academic scholarship awarded by the school as well as a cache of memories gained from teachers, friends and the culture of Jim Elliot.
After spending her freshman year at a public school in Elk Grove, Monroe was looking for a change. She opted for a smaller campus where she could meet people who shared her values.
Three years later, the student sees how that decision paid off.
“I’ve got the most awesome group of friends, and it’s not just a couple — it’s like half the school,” she said in an affectionate tone.
“It’s just a really fun, friendly and family environment.”
During her time at the private school campus, Monroe was involved in the Interact Club, a community service-based group on campus, as well as soccer and track and field. She was also the treasurer of the student council.
Monroe said her best memories of Elliot will be a collage of exciting moments like the prom and challenges that she and her friends overcame together.
“I’ll remember Spanish III,” she said with a good-humored grimace of her most difficult class. “I think all the girls in there cried at least once, but we learned a lot.”
Her biggest challenge as a senior was finding a college and figuring out what she had to do to get there. With the support of family and friends, Monroe made it through the tough times.
Now, she said, she looks forward to joining her cousin, Maria, at Nazarene in the fall, where she hopes to pursue a career in field of math or chemistry. She is interested in pharmacology, but hasn’t ruled out a future in research or computer technology.
Monroe added that the lessons and values she learned at Jim Elliot are sure to get her through the hard times, regardless of which path she chooses to go down.
“Trials are going to come up and things will get hard, but God will always be by my side.”
Contact reporter Sara Cardine at sarac@lodinews.com.