Jude, 17
Future: Jude is currently looking at schools that offer digital music programs. In the future, he'd like to write music for ad jingles, video game soundtracks, and even score movies.
Prayer Request: My mom has some health issues she’s dealing with, and I really want to continue to be successful at EA and prepare for my future. I'm grateful for this school.
Jude’s family moved to the Sammamish area in middle school seven years ago after a year in Brisbane, Australia and growing up in Arizona. He was secretive with his parents about his struggles with mental health and addiction, but it all came to light after he attempted suicide. “I was in the hospital for a while, and things were really dark for me. I couldn’t find my way out. I just needed some help,” he said.
His parents sent him to a treatment program, but the friends he had made continued to steer him in an unhealthy direction and he continued down the same path of using alcohol to cope with the dark thoughts. “One night, In the middle of the night, I woke up and there were these two Navy Seals type of military guys standing over me in my room. They grabbed me and put me in the back of a van and I started my trip to a wilderness treatment program in Montana. I didn’t know how long I was going to be there, and they didn’t really give me any sort of time frame. I ended up being there for months. It was really good for me.
Jude knew that he wasn’t going to be heading back to his public high school when he finished his treatment program, but when his parents told him he was going to be coming to EA, a Christian high school, he was not excited. Jude didn’t grow up going to church, had never stepped foot inside a church building before, and doesn’t believe in God. “When my parents told me that EA was a Christian school, I thought it was going to be a place where religion was crammed down my throat. I expected it was going to be religious lectures all the time from up front,” he said, describing a sermon/preaching experience. “But it’s not like that at all, EA is not at all what I expected.”
“Jude is thriving at Eastside Academy,” Drew Hale, our Student Chaplain and Director of Student Services said. “He’s really positive and upbeat, and he’s really influenced the atmosphere of the school, lightening the mood in so many ways.”
“Drew has been the most influential person since I started at EA,” Jude said. “He’s a really genuine person and I can see that he cares. He’s actually the one that has opened me up to thinking that maybe there is a God, or at least considering it. He’s helped me become more open-minded.”
As Jude walks through the halls, he always has a smile on his face, is with people, and laughing, “He’s really impacting people here,” said Jackie, his Art teacher. “He’s influencing everyone and the culture of the school in really positive ways. I’m really glad he’s around.” We all are. Even though Jude has been at EA for three months, he’s making huge strides in his recovery and helping others along the way.
