Chris Blakeley Looks to the Future
(Editor’s Note: The Monticello News is interviewing high school seniors in an effort to highlight them as they are missing out on so many year-end milestones at school. The system vows there will be a graduation ceremony, but those arrangements have not yet been made. The News still plans to have a graduation section, featuring all the seniors, but we will interview as many as possible in this space over the coming weeks. Please call us, 706-468-6511 or text us at 706-318-7396, and we’ll set up a telephone interview.)
A self described social person, Christopher Blakeley thought the reprieve from going to school was fun at first, but not so much now. To help him move forward and not dwell on the time he and his fellow seniors have been deprived of, he has adopted the philosophy, “You just have to move on and deal with it.”
A senior representative, a member of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) a Career and Technical Student Organization, the Technology Students Association, the Beta Club and a member of the marching band, Christopher is looking forward to the promised graduation ceremony whenever it is scheduled.
“We will definitely be remembered. This has brought us all as a class together,” he added.
He’s lived in Monticello since first grade with his mom Darci Gilreath. He speaks fondly of Monticello, describing it as “one of the best towns on the entire planet.”
Being a mentor to second grader Payton is a big highlight of Christopher’s senior year. “We played basketball and football and would just go outside and run around,” he shared, giving Payton much needed play time outside of the classroom. He made it a point on the last Friday he was in school to find Payton to say goodbye.
He is not looking forward to saying goodbye to his mom, who works for Rockdale County Schools, sharing, “It’s been just the two of us for awhile.”
He and his mom have been enjoying their time together and have made good use of the time, in part, shopping for Christopher’s dorm room. “I know she’s proud of me. I know she will miss me,” he shared.
“I’m very excited high school is over. Going shopping for dorm stuff has made it very real.” The dorm room he is furnishing is at his life long dream school, a school according to Christopher that he has wanted to attend since the day he could walk, the University of Georgia (UGA).
He weighed the pros and cons of rooming with a friend he knows versus rooming with someone new, and chose to room with one of his high school friends, Camden Garland, son of newly appointed Jasper County Charter Schools (JCCS) school superintendent, Kenny Garland. He’s very happy that a few of his other good friends, Ben Lynch and Matt Cain will also be joining him and Camden at UGA.
“My end goal is to be a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) or GM (General Manager) of a sports team.” Christopher told me. “I try my best in everything I want,” he said, believing if he truly wants something and he works hard, he will be able to accomplish it. He has always had an interested in sports, not as much as a player of sports, but as a manager of sports. He did play on the tennis team for two years, genuinely enjoying the game and even enjoying practice.
His time in the FBLA, especially as a regional officer, gives him confidence and has offered him experiences he believes are valuable to his career choices. Now the President of the FBLA, Christopher describes his time with the FBLA as one of his best learning experiences. Learning lessons that will last him his whole life, he loved being able to attend conferences and learn about real world business issues.
An active member of the Monticello Baptist Church youth group and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Christopher said he is “very big on faith.” He credits his time in the FCA as an experience that provided him with a foundation that helped him truly connect to school and his classmates helping him understand how much he genuinely cares for his school.
“It’s been the best four years of my life and something I’m very thankful for,” he acknowledged.
Speaking affectionately of his fellow seniors, he describes all of them as special people, adding, “We’ve all gotten to know each other pretty well. Our class is closer than the typical class. I think I’ve talked to every one of the seniors since we’ve been out of school.”
