Frisby to fly high at Illinois State

A welcome packet from Normal told St. Joseph-Ogden High School senior Justyn Frisby all he needed to know — he would be a Redbird in the fall.

“Illinois State University had been my top choice all along,” Frisby said.
“It didn’t matter where else I was accepted into.”

Frisby chose ISU because of the school’s size and the accredited business program.
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Frisby said the school is just big enough to represent something new and exciting, while remaining small enough to give him the “small town vibes” he has known his whole life.

“I am looking forward to taking the next step and experiencing the
ups and downs that life has to offer; how I react to such a roller
coaster experience will be a testament to who I have become,” he said.

Plus, he has family in the area.

Frisby said his parents were elated with his choice.

“It was the school I talked to them about the most, it was cheaper and some of my family lives in Bloomington,” he said. “The bottom line was
that it immediately felt like home.”

Before he fully becomes a Redbird, Frisby will graduate from SJO.

Frisby will be reading a poem at SJO’s graduation on Sunday.

Graduation takes place at 3 p.m. at the high school.

Frisby, who was a defender on the SJO soccer team, said he would miss
SJO but he would take the valuable lessons he learned there with him
to college.

“I have learned to stand apart from the crowd, and to not lot other’s
perception of me mold me into the person that they want me to become,”
he said.

Frisby said he will also miss playing soccer with his teammates, the
camaraderie the sport offers and even going to practice every day.

“Becoming emotionally invested in a group of people each year is a
treasured memory of mine,” he said. “Soccer has taught me how to take criticism even when I think there is nothing left to be learned (there
always is), and how to become a better leader as I was a captain my
senior year. “