There is something special about watching a former FTCSC Flashes student walk back through our doors. This time, though, they are not carrying a backpack or heading to class. They are the ones standing at the front of the classroom, investing in the next generation of our FTCSC Flashes Community.

At FTCSC, our mission is to Make A Difference through Purposeful Learning and Meaningful Collaboration. Every day, our staff works to help students discover their passions, overcome challenges, and prepare for whatever comes next. Sometimes that journey takes our FC graduates across the country or around the world. And sometimes, it brings them right back home to our FTCSC Flashes Community!

This year, we are excited to welcome a large number of Franklin Central graduates back home! We recently sat down with four of those graduates who have returned to the FTCSC Flashes Community to serve students in the same district that helped shape them.

Their stories are all different, but they have one very important thing in common: someone Made A Difference in their lives, and now they have the opportunity to do the same for someone else.

For Franklin Central Junior High 7th-grade Math Teacher Samantha Williams, coming back to FTCSC was really about the people.

A 2013 Franklin Central High School graduate, Samantha attended Arlington Elementary, Kitley Intermediate, Franklin Township Middle School East, and FCHS. Along the way, teachers like Dr. Nickell helped grow her love for Mathematics and Physics, while Mrs. Sego helped her learn the importance of believing in herself, even when things were difficult, Making A Difference in Samantha's life.

Those experiences still influence Samantha today. In her own classroom, she wants students to know that it is okay to struggle, make mistakes, and try again. She challenges them to think, work through problems, and continue growing even when the answer does not come easily.

For Grace Wilson, FTCSC has always felt like an extension of her family.

Grace attended South Creek Elementary and Franklin Township Middle School East before graduating from Franklin Central High School in 2022. During her time as a student, teachers like Ms. Christiansen and Mr. Pierson were Making A Difference in Grace's life by showing her the importance of finding hope, showing kindness, and believing in students.

Now, Grace is back at Franklin Central as a Business teacher.

She wants her students to know that they are supported and surrounded by people who want to see them succeed. Through Purposeful Learning, she is helping prepare students for future careers and recognize their own potential and the opportunities that await them beyond high school.

For Lola Reddick, some of the lessons that stuck with her the most had less to do with a textbook and more to do with the relationships her teachers built with her.

A 2022 Franklin Central graduate, Lola attended Kitley Elementary, Franklin Township Middle School East, and Franklin Central High School. She remembers the encouragement she received from Mrs. Eads, Mrs. Troxell, Mrs. Patterson, and Mrs. Anderson, which Made a Difference in her life, and the way those teachers helped her feel seen, valued, and capable.

Today, Lola is a 2nd Grade teacher at New Bethel Elementary and is working to create that same feeling for her own students.

She wants to Make A Difference in her classroom by creating a place where students feel comfortable asking questions, taking chances, making mistakes, and celebrating their growth. For Lola, building those relationships is where Purposeful Learning begins.

Dion Smith also remembers the people who believed in him and pushed him to see more in himself.

A member of the Franklin Central Class of 2012, Dion attended Bunker Hill Elementary, Kitley Intermediate, Franklin Township Middle School East, and Franklin Central High School. He credits Mrs. Addison with Making A Difference in his life by challenging him to pursue Academic Honors and helping him realize what he was capable of accomplishing.

Now, Dion has the opportunity to provide that same encouragement to students through Credit Recovery and as a Boys' Basketball Coach at Franklin Central.

Whether he is helping a student get back on track toward graduation or mentoring an athlete beyond the basketball court, Dion wants to Make A Difference in the lives of his students by letting them know that someone is in their corner. He understands firsthand how powerful it can be when an adult sees something in a student that they may not yet see in themselves.

Samantha, Grace, Lola, and Dion are four different people with four different journeys back home. They also represent something much bigger. They now join many other Franklin Central graduates who have returned home to work in our schools, along with countless alumni who have been serving students throughout our FTCSC Flashes Community for years.

And that is pretty special. Our teachers and staff Make A Difference in the lives of students every day without always knowing where those students' journeys will take them. Then, years later, some of those students walk back through the doors ready to invest in the next generation of our FTCSC Flashes Community!

#AlwaysAFlash #MakeADifference #WeAreFlashes