2nd year Gateway student, Mackenzie Clark, knows persistence pays off; after writing continuous letters to former Chiefs defensive coordinator, Romeo Crennel, she received a response! Weeks later, Romeo Crennel sent her a Christmas card hand-delivered to her classroom by Dr. Jacobs. A rare and special occurrence which began as a writing assignment for school soon became a hopeful encounter with a superstar coach and role model.

   “I enjoy talking about Romeo Crennel so much that my teacher and I thought it would be a good idea to write and send him a letter and ask him some questions” Gateway student, Mackenzie Clark said.

   Everyone has a famous person they admire and have hopes of getting to know better someday, yet many of us do not act on our wishes out of discouragement or fear, but Mackenzie did not let either of these stop her from pursing her desires with curiosity and optimism.

   “I’m a huge, die-hard fan of the Chiefs and I think Romeo Crennel is a really good defensive coordinator! I asked him how he felt about winning a game, how he felt about losing a game, and what he thought about leaving the Chiefs” Clark said.

   A person can wish for an event to happen for as long as they live, but unless they, like Mackenzie, put their wishes into action they will never see it come to be. Hard work and persistence is always rewarded with the possibility for dreams to come true.

   “I was really, really happy because Dr. J brought the card all the way down to me, and I got to read the card out loud! I was so excited Romeo Crenel wrote me back” Clark said.