St. Paul Lutheran   School

After high school, I went to Kishwaukee College with tuition paid by scholarship for an Associate's in Science and then transferred to NIU for a Bachelor's in Computer Science. While in college, I worked for a few years at a startup software company called Equilibrium Contact Center Inc. in Rockford as their programmer building a web-based call center software from scratch. This past January, I started a new job at Cleo in Loves Park where I work as a Software Engineer for their data movement software.  I am on the board of R.O.C.K Ministry based in Rochelle, which is a Christian youth retreat (high school through age 20) that meets two weekends every year and serve on those retreats each year.  http://www.meetyouatthetop.org

Alex Hauck - St. Paul Class of 2006

 Typically middle school is a time of terror and low self-esteem, but frankly, I was able to come out of my 8th grade year knowing that St. Paul was a format of schooling I would never be a part of again and hoped not to take it for granted. Being with the same core people from Kindergarten to 8th grade really doesn't make you best friends- it makes you brothers and sisters. I came to school knowing teachers all around me were rooting for each of our individual successes and picked us up through our failures. More than anything, though, was the solid rock on which it built my life- Jesus Christ. Heading into high school I really didn't know how much spiritual warfare I would encounter and my head slipped underwater, but my junior year I was able to reach back on what had been engrained in my brain for 8 years, the power and glory of Jesus, which helped get me back on track. Going to college I am academically and spiritually unafraid to conquer anything that comes in my path, and I can claim that some of my confidence comes from my years here at St. Paul.”

Lauren Murphy - St. Paul Class of 2011

After graduating St. Paul, I went to Rochelle Township High School and graduated in the top 10 of my class. I participated in the Marching Band as a Drum Major for 3 years, on the cheerleading squad for all four years, as well as in Student Council, Silver Cord Program, and National Honors Society. I went to the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, studying Spanish and Molecular and Cellular Biology. I graduated in 2012 and am currently in my 4th year of medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford. I will graduate in May 2016 and then attend a yet-to-be-determined Family Medicine Residency Program, likely in the Midwest. At St. Paul, I still remember practicing the skits and stories we would use during our class-led chapel service each year. I enjoyed practicing the lines with my classmates and these chapel services were a great time to develop our Christian faith. I played basketball, volleyball, and was a cheerleader while at St. Paul, and I remember going to the State tournament almost every year. It was fun to be with my classmates and friends at these events, and it was interesting to see so many other kids from the other schools who went to schools just like the one I went too, where they strengthened their faith every day, just like I did. Looking back, I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today without those 10 years at St. Paul. I learned to be assertive, but polite. I learned to be honest and to work hard. Being in a smaller classroom setting, the teachers knew us very well, and we were not permitted to “slip through the cracks.” I learned so much about all of my classmates, and all of them were my close friends throughout my time at St. Paul. I honestly appreciate my time at St. Paul and am so grateful to have been there for 10 years.

Emily Metzger - St. Paul Class of 2004