Cahron Cross, an H-F alumni from 2012 worked his way through Prairie State College and is now heading off to Stanford University with a full ride scholarship this fall.

When Cahron was at H-F, he wasn’t a straight-A student. His outside life was negatively affecting his work ethic in school and because of this he graduated with a 2.7 gpa.

While attending H-F he dealt with severe depression which led to him having negative thoughts about his potential and school in general.

“I was always somewhat resistant to some of the norms of the education system,” Cross said. “I felt that much of my homework was a waste of time, and resented the fact that there were foreign education models such as Finland’s which assigned much less homework and produced better average results than the American system.”

Despite resenting the education system, he was still involved in school. Cahron was on the track and field and cross country team.

“When he had an interest and saw a potential outcome to it, he put forth the effort needed.” said coach Nate Beebe his Track and Field coach.

Not only Beebe thought highly of Cahron, but also coach Brian McCarthy his Cross Country coach.
“He didn’t just try to ride on his talent, but he worked hard.” McCarthy said about him.
Along with sports, Cahron also had a big passion for music. He was always working on music and found a way to share it at school.

“I actually joined the first ever VTV Rap Contest when I was a sophomore,” Cahron said.
He gained supporters after the first rounds, and ended up getting second place.

Even though he was good on the track and made music, he wasn’t the same way in class.

When he left H-F, he took some time off school because he didn’t feel confident as a student. So he decided to pursue music. It all started at H-F.

The contest went online and got the attention of an Atlanta producer. And with his father’s connections, he started making music by himself and with his brother.

But even while making music he always found himself reading and studying in his free time. So after a while he went back to school in the Fall of 2015.“I realized that my ideal life was not that of a musician.” he said.

When he went back to school the way he looked at education changed; so he became a more hardworking and driven student.

“He was always prepared and focused,” said George Streeter, Cahron’s Humanities and Philosophy Professor.
Cahron also had a good relationship with his professors. He shared his music with them and asked for book recommendations.

Even though Cahron was a better student at Prairie State, he was unfortunately rejected by Stanford in 2018, so he decided to study one more year. Then in July of this year, he was accepted with a full ride scholarship.

He’s going into the study of Mathematics, Computer Science and Philosophy. As far as money goes, he has never really cared about it.

“Finally, I knew that if I could get in, they would offer generous financial aid. Money isn’t everything, but I don’t mind saving a little with school costs as high as they are today,” Cahron said.
Cahron is very excited to continue his studies at Stanford this fall. After all he’s gone through, he’s found his path.