Humans of Cleveland: Lee Day Edition
Photos by Jaclyn De Vries
There's no better time to meet interesting humans than Lee Day weekend. This year campus was teeming with high school students and their families. We decided to tackle the block party on Friday and meet some prospective students.
We found Jab Cox, a high school student from Nashville, milling around the free pizza tables.
'What do you like about Nashville?'
'I really like how its music oriented. It's called 'Music City' and there are famous musicians from there. It's all about music and I like it.'
'Do you play music?'
'I sing a little bit, but I listen to music a lot.'
'Describe your family in one word.'
'Just a nice family.'
'Tell me about your high school.'
'I've gone to a Christian private school. I've been in a Christian environment with good Christian people and I really like it. [I like] not having to worry about all those people that try to discredit Christianity. I've been able to grow in an environment that's safe for Christians.'
'What are you most looking forward to about college?'
'I'm looking forward to having a new start and being out in the real world'seeing what everything's really like.'
Mikayla Russell, a sophomore high school student from Dalton Georgia, was hanging out with some friends.
'Tell me about Dalton.'
'It's known as the carpet capital of the world.'
'What is your favorite thing to do?'
'I write songs and play the guitar a little bit.'
'What was one of your songs about?'
'Last summer I had a crush on this guy that was musically talented. He just inspired me to write a song about him. I know it sounds silly.'
'Can you tell me an embarrassing story from high school?'
'I play basketball and I fell by myself once during a game. Everybody remembers that fall because I just fell by myself.'
'How did you end up at Lee day?'
'I've always wanted to go to Lee. It's smaller than other colleges, and a Christian atmosphere.'
'What are you most looking forward to about college?'
'The independence and meeting new people.'
We also ran into Aaron Tedeschi, a former Lee student who happened to be visiting for the weekend.
'How are you connected to Lee?'
'I came here for a year. Voices of Lee came to my church for years when I was a kid'and then I came here. The Lord told me to go to Italy so I dropped out and have been working and saving money. So I'm going to Italy this summer to backpack and explore.'
'How long are you going?'
'For however long he wants me there.'
'How did you know you were meant to go to Italy?'
'A lot of prayer. Also people from home would call me and give me words from the Lord that hinted towards that.'
'Where have you been working?'
'I work with a carpenter I know and when I'm not doing that I move fitness equipment.'
'Tell me about the carpenter.'
'He's really interesting. He's not your everyday boss. He's kind of easygoing. He'll just take a nap in the middle of the day but he works really hard. We make beautiful tables and really cool artwork from old barns and things that have fallen down. We'll make beautiful pieces of art from something that's been abandoned or something that doesn't seem wanted by the normal world. We'll get it and make it beautiful.'
'How does it feel being back here?'
'It's crazy. I didn't know it was Lee Day. I got here just expecting a normal weekend at Lee and then I said, 'Oh my gosh, there are people everywhere!' But then again, is there ever really a normal weekend at Lee?'
