Class Knox

Burke: “I had the HUGE honor of being inducted into the Knox-Lombard Hall of Fame two weekends ago. I came with my wife and three (soon to be four) kids and loved every minute of being in Galesburg alongside Marty Dertz, Grant Guimond, Jack Dippold, Riley O’Brien, Mike Kizior, Lucas Leckrone, and Whitney Mackie. Felt a TON of Knox love all weekend long. Super honored.” ❯ Ashley Blazina had some huge life changes during the pandemic. She met and married her husband Evan, gained a beautiful stepdaughter and had a son—not necessarily in that order. She also started working in her dream job as the environmental justice and forest health planner for Washington state. ❯ Amanda Chavero and Clint Moore had a baby (Dempsey Chavero Moore) and bought a house since their last update. Clint is coaching men’s soccer at Colorado School of Mines. Amanda is CEO at Dear Donor, a consulting firm for nonprofit fundraising. Life (and Clint’s hair) is exactly as chaotic as you think it is. ❯ Brian Chi Zhang is now working at Valon, a mortgage servicing startup. He enjoys working from the comfort of his home in Los Angeles while still getting to visit New York City every few months for work, “so if you are reading this and are based in either of these two cities please reach out and let’s meet up!” This year he got to travel to Mexico City for the F1 race with Andres Wang ’08 and had an absolute blast! Fellow F1 fans and want to go to a race together? Come join us! We lived through that pandemic for a good reason! ❯ Madeleine Weiland took the time to learn how to knit and knitted a life-sized version of bluey for her dog. While entertaining, the costume did not last very long as knit fabric is not as sturdy as other textiles. ❯ Ryan Cash, Jake Diller-Schatz, and John Curtin took a road trip to Iowa City to visit Sam Jarvis and Kate Jarvis ’12. The crew got to see Kinnick Stadium and the Children’s Hospital, the Pentacrest, and some favorite spots in Iowa City. Cheers to the Midwest Coast. Class Correspondent: Sam Jarvis samuelpaulleejarvis@gmail.com

Having a Role Model that Looks Like You: Principal Christian Mahone ’11

Christian Mahone ’11 began his career in education teaching fifth grade at Nielson Elementary in Galesburg, where he became a reading recovery instructor. He then completed his master’s degree in educational leadership with a focus on principalship at the University of Illinois at Springfield, winning the “Outstanding Student” award. From there he moved into administrative roles and recently accepted a position as principal at South Side Elementary in Champaign, Illinois. He recently appeared on the Jennifer Hudson Show, where Hudson presented Mahone tickets for all the students to attend a Chicago Bulls game.

What inspired you to pursue education as a career?

From kindergarten through high school, I only had four male teachers, with one of those teachers being Black. I understand the importance of having someone in the classroom that looks like you and how it has a significant impact on the way that students learn. As a result of this, in combination with my passion for working with children, I decided to go into the field of education. For more than 90 percent of the students I taught, I was their first Black male teacher. This is what encouraged me to stay in the field of education because many students voiced how important I was to their academic success.

What’s the most important thing you learned at Knox outside the classroom?

The most important thing I learned is being able to position myself to view the world through multiple lenses. This has made me capable of understanding viewpoints that are different than mine, and has taught me much humility and compassion.

What surprised you about Knox?

What surprised me upon entering Knox was how invested the professors were as it pertained to not only the academic success of the student, but about their personal growth as well.