High school dreams best friends forever crashing

One of SackmasterвЂ™s favorite memories of Hodge involves a cellphone. Two years later, he would play on the record-breaking team that went undefeated in the NIC-10, winning the school's second conference title in more than a decade. When he was in high school, HodgeВ added basketball to the mix.Д®astВ head coach Roy Sackmaster remembers meeting Hodge as a sophomore transfer student, struggling to adjust. In between work and school, Williams said, he helped take care ofВ his two younger brothers. He worked at CulverвЂ™s, at Amazon, at the LoweвЂ™s distribution center and most recently for Door Dash. More: 1 dead, 1 injured in Winnebago County traffic crash Making dreams happen More: Rockford struggles to close the teacher-student race gap We grieve for the potential he had to positively impact the world of education,вЂќ said Kimberlee Wagner, Rockford UniversityвЂ™s education chair. вЂњThe Rockford University community is deeply saddened by the loss of Chris. The partnership was a grow-your-own program designed to help attract and retain minority teachers in the Rockford school district - teachers like Hodge, who could help change the face of the district and shape the future of education. In 2019, Hodge was hand-selected to be amongВ the first students to attend Rockford University through a new education pathway program developed by the university and Rockford Public Schools. вЂњHis compassion and kindness was evident in the classroom and in his leadership as an ambassador and leader of Project LEAD, a student-led organization that advocates for and celebrates the increase in diverse candidates of color to become teachers and leaders in the field of education.вЂќ вЂњChris was passionate about making a difference in education,вЂќ said Kelly Monson, an associate professor of education and Rockford UniversityвЂ™s pathways faculty coordinator.

He was scheduled to start an internship this fall at RockfordвЂ™s Kennedy Middle School. Hodge was looking forward to being that change, his mother said. вЂњRemembering the change and aura that they all brought to the students fuels me to strive to be the next positive male change in the classroom.' 'I can count on one hand how many minority male teachers I've had in school, including my continued education at Rockford University,вЂќ Hodge responded during an interview for a class project at RU. The Peoria native who moved to Rockford during his high school years was on the cusp of a life he had worked so hard to live and a career that held deep meaning. Him dying and me losing him, thatвЂ™s every motherвЂ™s nightmare, but the type of person he was and what he represented - every motherвЂ™s dream.вЂќ He couldnвЂ™t wait to get the rest of his life started. вЂњHe was an amazing young man,вЂќ Williams said. He was 19 years old, a sophomore at Rockford University and multiple scholarship recipient, an aspiring teacher and a member of East High SchoolвЂ™s talent-stacked 2019 basketball team. WilliamsвЂ™ son, Chris Hodge, died in a single-vehicle car crash Monday night on Linden Road in Rockford. вЂњThe irony is everything I asked God to protect him from, I never said car accident.вЂќ

I fought so the police wouldnвЂ™t get my son.

I fought for another brown face like his to not take his life. вЂњI fought for my son to not end up in the penal system. вЂњI fought like hell to keep him on the right path,вЂќ Williams said. As a teenage mom to a Black baby boy, Staci Williams often prayed for her son - for his health, his happiness, his success in life.

High school dreams best friends forever crashing