My name is Logan Frederick and I graduated from Illiana in 2020. I grew up in Cedar Lake, Indiana, and I went through the Hanover School system, going to Jane Ball up to 5th grade, and then Hanover Middle to finish up 6th through 8th grade. I wrestled and played baseball for about 6 years during that time. When I was in 8th grade, my older sister was in her freshman year at Hanover. She was having a difficult time in school, and my parents decided this would be a good time for us to try Illiana. Now, I had never heard of Illiana Christian High School, so I was definitely nervous on my first day. Even though I was nervous, I was also pretty excited to have a new start for school. I had never had a real group of friends from my old school, so one goal of mine was to try to make some new friends, and maybe try to get involved in some way. I was uneasy going into the first day, but by the end of the day I was excited to be a part of my new school.
School was going pretty well for me, and toward the end of October of my freshman year, I was able to join the wrestling team, and really enjoyed being on the team. I was able to form a lot of strong relationships on the team, which also helped me connect with other people in my classes. Being a team captain for the past few years has truly been a blessing to me, and I love getting to meet the new freshmen who want to experience something new. Even if they don’t stay on the team, I still have strong bonds with many students because of wrestling. My favorite part of being on the team, and also the most challenging, is being a strong Christian role model for the rest of the team. We do devotions before almost every practice, and pray before every competition. This has been challenging for me because no matter what happens during the day, I am responsible for showing strength in my faith. Although wrestling has been something that I really enjoy getting to do, other sports or being involved in music are also huge ways of getting connected. I feel that getting involved in after-school activities is the best possible way you can meet new people and find new hobbies through high school.
Throughout my 4 years at Illiana, I often got asked about Illiana. People that I knew outside of Illiana were always curious to hear my opinion about how my school compared to theirs, or their kids’ school. And that was hard to do! But I always ended up saying the same thing: I truly enjoyed being a part of Illiana. It’s hard to pinpoint what makes Illiana so different, but for me, the biggest thing has always been the teachers. The first thing I talk about is how I always appreciated just how much the teachers care about us. I am confident in saying that all of the teachers were truly here for us students. They really cared about us, and this is rare in today’s collection of schools and teachers. It is not uncommon to be in the middle of class and suddenly fall into a conversation about the Gospel. This is super encouraging because it pushed me to think about my faith on a deeper level, and better understand other people’s points of view. I really enjoyed my classes because of my teachers and the way they make class interesting. When people asked about my school, I was also quick to tell of the events we had that are not only available to students, but our entire community. Things like Praise Crowd, school breakfasts, and chapels were times when you could really see our school come together, enjoying the company of others. Many people also loved to get involved in the plays and musicals that are put on in the fall and spring. These were also times when you could take time to worship our God and enjoy the many blessings we have been given. If I had to sum it up, I would just say that I enjoyed the constant encouragement that was provided at Illiana.
Now that I have graduated, it is crazy for me to look back and see all of the opportunities Illiana has allowed me to experience. Everybody always told me that high school would fly by, and they were right. I will always be proud to be a part of Illiana.
