Educators make a difference in the lives of students. Consider the story of Erick Boone, 2014 CHS graduate.
During his junior year Erick’s High School Principal, the late Beth Heide, sensed that Erick might have an interest in international relations. She helped him secure a spot in the Youth Leadership Program of Central Europe (YLPCE), an exchange program involving Central Europeans and Americans. Thanks to YLPCE, Erick had the opportunity to travel to Serbia and Hungary for professional development and cultural immersion. That trip planted a seed with Erick that started him on a path that would ultimately lead him to the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship with the Department of State, a full-ride scholarship to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and an eventual job as a diplomat representing the United States. Quite a journey for a young man from a small school in South Kansas City!
Like most of us, Erick’s journey did not follow a straight line. While still at Center, he participated in a program called Generation Rap sponsored by the radio station Hot 103 Jamz. Mentors from that experience led him to apply for and receive a scholarship to Howard University, a historically black college in Washington DC. Having served as the Editor-in-Chief of the news team at the Missouri Youth In Government convention (thanks to the mentoring of another Center teacher, Andy Hanch), Erick gravitated towards journalism initially. As his view of the world broadened through relationships at Howard and through a study abroad program at Institut Catholique de Paris, his focus shifted and he switched to a program in Legal Communications. Erick continued to build relationships, including an internship with Congressional Representative Emmanuel Cleaver II from Kansas City, which primed him for a later fellowship at the US Helsinki Commission of which Representative Cleaver is a Commissioner.
The Commission is an independent research arm of the US Congress and his fellowship there allowed him to focus on issues in Central Europe and research human rights issues, particularly those dealing with the Roma people, an ethnic group living in various parts of Europe. The Helsinki experience cemented Erick’s desire to work in international relations. He has a particular desire to create experiences that will help to inspire other young people the way that Dr. Heide inspired him at Center.
With his admission to Harvard, Erick will continue his journey into international affairs and begin his career in the Foreign Service upon graduation. He does not yet know where he will serve, but it will undoubtedly continue his path of service to his country and his ability to inspire others to follow their dreams.
Thanks to Erick for being one of many reasons that we are proud of our graduates.

Public Defenders are a vital part of our justice system, providing legal representation to those who cannot afford to hire legal counsel. 2005 CHS graduate Walter Stokely has been a public defender since 2013 and was featured in a series in the Kansas City Star last year highlighting the challenges of a severely understaffed and overworked office. Just a few months prior to the arrival of the coronavirus in the Kansas City area, Walter was named as the District Defender for the Kansas City Children’s Team.
Walter and his team represent juveniles who have gotten involved with the Jackson County Circuit Court. This work is particularly important as the legal rights of youth are a specialized aspect of the law and the impact of the legal process on a youth can have ramifications that are lifelong for the young person. Walter’s job is to ensure that due process is followed for their clients and that the focus remains on coming to a resolution that follows the law, but also gives the young person the best opportunity to become a productive and contributing member of society.
The coronavirus has impacted Walter’s work in three significant ways. First, a key element to proper representation is to develop a high trust relationship between the attorney and their client. When face to face meetings are limited or impossible due to visitation policies, this task becomes even more difficult than normal. Secondly, the youth are often held in detention while their case is processed. The environments of jails are ripe for becoming infected by the coronavirus, so a priority has been to make sure that all efforts are made get youth released while the process moves along unless there are absolutely no other alternatives. Finally, the use of technology and restrictions on in person meetings makes it difficult to protect the due process rights of a defendant. Walter and his team work to make sure that decisions made in the interest of health do not damage the legal rights of their clients.
Walter’s interest in social justice started at a young age. The combination of socially active parents and the diverse environment in the Center School District helped Walter develop tremendous empathy for the different life experiences of people in his community, especially those who did not have the stable family and home environments that he enjoyed. During the summer following his first year of law school, Walter had an internship at the Department of Natural Resources. He spent the summer at a desk researching and writing reports. He quickly realized that his extroverted nature needed a career that involved more interaction with people than with books. He is forever grateful to the DNR for helping him identify what he didn’t want to do for a career! After his second year in law school he interned at the Public Defenders office and quickly realized that this was his calling. The rest, as they say, is history.
While his work as a regular public defender was important, the structure of the system makes is impossible to provide adequate representation and that makes it a very frustrating job. Walter is grateful to be able move into the Children’s team where the caseloads are more manageable and he is better able to impact the lives of his clients in a positive way.
Thanks to Walter Stokely and all our Yellowjacket Heroes for their service!

Tracy MacClement (CHS class of 1972) refers to her work as a Hospice Chaplain as a “Ministry of Presence”. The essence is simply “being present” with her patients as they reach the end of their lives. Holding hands, leaning in close to listen, sharing a quiet prayer, singing songs, and reading together are all acts that are not possible in a time of pandemic. Many of Tracy’s patients are in facilities that are locked down from visitors, even chaplains.
Since mid-March, Tracy’s job as changed dramatically. She does her best to provide comfort via phone or video chats, but those resources are often difficult for patients in their final days and hours. Tracy’s job has shifted to providing counsel and support for families as they deal with the sorrow of not being able to visit their loved ones.
Tracy’s passion for hospice began in her early 20’s as she sat with her grandmother-in-law as she passed away. That experience sparked an interest that grew as she became a pastor in churches, often finding herself working with people in medical crisis. When she went to Divinity School, several professors saw her gift and encouraged her to pursue hospice as a ministry. She has worked as a Hospice Chaplain for Catholic Community Hospice for eleven years.
While her primary support is with the patient who is dying, she also provides support to families during the process as well as other health professionals. She has found that, especially in recent weeks, the nurses, certified nurse assistants, home health aides, and therapists need her support and prayer as much as the patients and families.
While this time is difficult, Tracy has seen positives as people come to reevaluate parts of their lives, recognizing the value of relationships, the importance of taking care of each other, and the inequalities that exist in our world. We can only hope that those are the values that are strengthened as the pandemic passes.
Thanks to Tracy and all our Yellowjacket Heroes for their service!

Washing your hands is important. As the Life Enrichment Director at Homestead of Overland Park Senior Care Center, 1988 CHS graduate Kris Lentz has the opportunity to serve others on a daily basis. When serving a population of older adults, ensuring that potential exposure to the coronavirus is minimized has become a truly fundamental part of that service. Therefore the mantra - wash your hands, wash them well, and wash them often.
Many things have changed with Kris’ job in the last couple of months. Everyone working in care for the elderly has become, by necessity, a “jack-of-all-trades” as needs shift daily. Many of the activities that are part of the job of the Enrichment Director no longer happen, or happen in very different ways. As the needs of her residents have changed, so has the work that Kris does.
At the heart of it all, regardless of the specific duties, is Kris’ desire to fulfill her personal mission by serving God’s people every day.
Thank you, Kris, for taking care of our elders! You are a Yellowjacket Hero!

PPE. Three letters that stand for Personal Protective Equipment. Really important stuff to protect our first responders such as Michael Ruff (class of 1986), a Paramedic in Butler, Missouri. Sometimes, however, the urgency of the situation makes it difficult for paramedics to be fully protected. Such an incident put Michael into a fourteen-day quarantine recently due to exposure to COVID-19 while treating a patient having a life-threatening emergency. Thankfully, he got through the quarantine period with negative test results and is now back on the job.
Michael’s passion for Emergency Medical Service began with a chance meeting with a MAST paramedic during a class at UMKC during his junior year. As they talked, Michael was invited to do a ride-along to see what the EMS world was really liked. He was hooked. He changed his academic direction, took some classes and got his first EMS job in Clinton, Missouri. He has explored other career options over the years but has always come back to EMS.
COVID-19 has changed the job – making the use of protective equipment even more important than ever. Michael and his fellow paramedics live with the fear that they may be exposed and spread the virus to family. “Gowning up” on each and every call is becoming a habit, though as described above, is not always possible. Michael’s message to his fellow Yellowjackets – “This pandemic is real! Be cautious.”
Michael’s mantra in life is to “do one tiny thing every day to make the world better”. Helping those in medical need gives him plenty of opportunities to do just that.
Thanks to Michael Ruff and all our Yellowjacket Heroes for their service!

Dialysis is a life-saving treatment for those with kidney disease. 2006 CHS graduate, Sharon Ajjarapu, is a registered nurse who has been working with dialysis patients for over five years. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Kansas City, Sharon recognized that she would likely treat COVID patients on a regular basis. Dialysis is an essential treatment and cannot be deferred until after the pandemic.
Sharon’s career in nursing started close to home – her mother was a nurse and helped nurture a love of serving and caring heart for patients in Sharon from an early age. Sharon started her nursing career in long term care while also working occasionally as a substitute school nurse substitute in the Center School District (where she also lives and sends her children to school). She really enjoyed the ability to develop a relationship with students. Her best friend suggested that Sharon would enjoy being a dialysis nurse for the same reason. Dialysis patients typically receive treatment 3 days per week and their sessions last from 3-5 hours each. They are grouped in a horseshoe shaped configuration of chairs with lots of time to build relationships. Sharon says it’s like having a large group of grandparents, sharing stories of life and family during their treatments. Much of the Sharon’s work is helping to make a difficult and tedious process as positive as possible for her patients.
When COVID-19 became a reality in Kansas City, the staff at Sharon’s facility met to review their plans. From the beginning, it was clear that discontinuing treatment services was not an option for their patients. The staff would need to continue to serve, even if patients tested positive for COVID-19. They reviewed protocols, developed testing plans, created ways to isolate patients who tested positive, and did everything possible to protect the health of both patients and staff. Even with the precautions, it was frightening for all the staff to think that they would be exposed to the virus and would be at risk for spreading it to their own families. Sharon’s clinic has had at least one patient who contracted the virus and passed away. The nature of kidney disease is that it leaves patients highly vulnerable to infections, so the presence of the coronavirus makes them even more aware than normal of the importance of hygiene and infection control.
Thanks to Sharon Ajjarapu and all our Yellowjacket Heroes for their service!

Confusion. Uncertainty. Fear. These are all emotions that 2002 graduate Artesha Gladney encounters in patients as a scheduler for the University of Kansas Medical Center. The rapidly changing landscape of medical care has created challenges for both patients and health care workers as they deal with new policies and procedures almost daily as the medical understanding of COVID-19 changes.
While Artesha does not encounter patients face-to-face, she certainly deals with their concerns. Many elective procedures have been delayed or cancelled as the health system focuses on COVID-19 and minimizing unnecessary exposure for patients and health care workers. Determining what visits are “essential” is a constant challenge.
Artesha was drawn to work in health care after a series of personal experiences with the system with the birth of her daughter along with the personal tragedies of the death of her sister and her mom’s battle with cancer.
As in all things, there are silver linings in the challenges we face. Artesha has seen an increase in the level of teamwork as employees pitch in to help everyone get through their day. Even tasks as simple as getting meals are complicated by safety concerns and it is only with the help of each other that staff manage the challenges. The health care profession is often broken into silos of professional responsibilities, but Artesha has seen the silos break down as all team members go beyond their traditional roles to lend a hand.
Thanks to Artesha and all our Yellowjacket Heroes on the front lines!

Yellowjacket Heroes

Making our world a better place, one Yellowjacket at a time