January 22, 2024
PCS was able to catch up with Blake recently and learn about Portland Christian’s influence on his life, especially in the realm of sports. “PC was the only reason I even began football. If I had not transferred to PC, there is no way I would have played football. Since I have been playing college football for 4 years now, I would say that had a big impact on my life.”
(See https://nwcsports.com/news/2023/12/19/24-nwc-student-athletes-earn-csc-football-academic-all-district-honors.aspx for the list of honorees).
Blake in jersey #81 at a PCS football game.
A relative newcomer to Portland Christian as a 7th grader from Naperville, Illinois, Blake found his niche playing oboe in the school band, participating in every seasonal sport - football, basketball, ski club, track & field (110m high hurdles, 300m hurdles, and discus), and succeeding academically with an average of 4.0 each year. Since attending George Fox University, he has played the defensive line for their football team.
In the classroom arena, Blake has been studying mechanical engineering. Again, Portland Christian transformed his opportunities. Blake explains, “Academically PC helped me to get ahead in college through concurrent credit. I took almost no math in college while pursuing an engineering degree because I was able to finish all my calculus and get college credit for it while attending PC. This allowed me to have more free time with less classes to take, and made it super easy for me to obtain a math minor to go along with my degree.” While at PCS, Blake was a member of the National Honor Society and the Mathematics National Honor Society. Blake took the Multivariable Vector Calculus class his senior year - he delights in having a solution to everything – rules are always the same!
Blake spent some time with PCS students when the PCS Intro to Engineering class took a field trip to George Fox.
One of his many outside school activities was his participation in the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) until his junior year in high school. He began playing oboe in third grade when he was told he was a natural. The hardest part of playing the oboe, he says, is making the reeds. He frequently had solo performances with PYP, notably at the collaboration of PYP and multiple vocal artists on the title oratorio by Richard Einhorn in accompaniment of Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc” performance. With the many activities while at PCS, Blake ended up focusing on sports and quit playing the oboe. But here at PCS, we enjoyed his musical talents at school band performances - playing percussion as well as participating in the spring musical pit orchestra.
Blake with his parents after one of his PYP solo performances.
Of his many activities, Blake attributed part of his success to his parents, “They [took] me everywhere, they [spent] lots of time in the car. I appreciate their time, they’ve allowed me to try many things.”
Many of our PC alumni note that relationships (in addition to academics and athletics) is an important aspect of their time at school. Covid in 2020 challenged our seniors. But Blake notes, “Aside from the craziness of Covid, the most memorable thing that year was our senior trip. It was a time where all of us were able to bond outside of school, when that rarely ever happened just because people are inevitably always busy.”
Blake's PCS graduation in 2020 in the school parking lot.
Portland Christian also strove to make the 2020 graduating class feel special. As one of our 41 graduating seniors in 2020, the Covid year, Blake describes his memories, “I felt like I still had a good senior year. Classes were able to continue on Zoom, and I was able to finish out high school with no issues. While we were not able to have a traditional graduation (which I was sort of happy about in an odd way, they are pretty boring), I really enjoyed getting to have that small graduation in the parking lot where everyone was able to be recognized, and to see everyone one last time.”
Because of Covid, NCAA has granted Blake another year of eligibility. He shares that he plans to play “one last season of football while taking an English class that is required to graduate. I am still planning on walking with the rest of my senior engineering class for graduation this spring, I just won't be receiving my diploma until the winter of 2024.”
We at PCS wish Blake all the best as he hopes to do “something where I can make some kind of positive impact on people’s lives” with his engineering degree.
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By Grace Dugger