May 2, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Spartan Spotlight… Kendall Ayers

Kendall Ayers has plans to travel after graduating from high school.


The St. Joseph-Ogden senior plans to take a vacation out west before attending Parkland College in the fall. Ayers said he plans on participating in the Parkland Pathways program before transferring to the University of Illinois to major in computer engineering.


Despite looking forward to his trip, Ayers knows he will miss certain things about SJO.


The Royal resident, who participates in scholastic bowl, drama club and chorus, said his greatest memories of school are the day-to-day interactions.

Ayers said he will always remember going to All State Chorus at Olivet Nazarene University, which was a huge accomplishment. His favorite classes at SJO were physical education and chorus. His all-time favorite teachers are his fifth and sixth-grade teacher Mrs. Max, Mrs. Steffen, Mr. Kieffer, Mr. Beckett and Mr. Hess at SJO.


Ayers, who enjoys playing video games, singing and working on computers, also has a passion for geology.

He said he would tell future SJO students to “get their foot in the door and make an impression.”

in People
Banner
Related Posts

Talk of the Town with Susan McKinney

July 2, 2019

July 2, 2019

Every week we ask a village official three questions. This week we talked to St. Joseph Township Librarian Susan McKinney...

Senior Spotlight… Jillian Plotner

January 23, 2020

January 23, 2020

What are your plans after you leave SJO?I plan on studying forensic anthropology. I haven’t decided what school yet! If...

Village hires administrator

June 24, 2021

June 24, 2021

The Village of St. Joseph has its administrator.During its June 22 meeting the village board voted to hire Joseph Hackney....

10 things you don’t know about me… Kathy McCormick

May 13, 2021

May 13, 2021

What is your favorite childhood memory? Playing outside with the neighborhood kids – every summer day until dark. What was...

10 things you don’t know about me… Tammy Vallee

June 15, 2020

June 15, 2020

My husband Troy and I will have been married 20 years this October and have three daughters – Jordyn, Macy...

Employees help co-worker during time of need

February 8, 2021

February 8, 2021

The staff at the St. Joseph Subway wanted to help April Patton. Manager Adam Porter said his co-worker said she...

SJO community mourns death of Chris Knipfer: ‘He truly had a heart of gold’

November 22, 2019

November 22, 2019

Chris Knipfer always wanted to help. “He would do anything for anyone,” said Jason Retz, the cross-country coach at St....

Michael looking to the future with coaching job

August 23, 2019

August 23, 2019

Nate Michael spent his youth playing basketball in every form.  After graduating this spring from McKendree University, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound...

10 things you don’t know about me… Noreen Acton

August 13, 2019

August 13, 2019

Every week we ask an area resident to share 10 things about themselves that we may not know. This week...

Senior spotlight: Chloe Duckett

May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019

Leading up to graduation, we asked five seniors five questions. Next up is Chloe Duckett! What will you be doing...

10 things you don’t know about me… John Mills

July 10, 2019

July 10, 2019

Every week we ask an area resident to give us 10 interesting facts about themselves. This week it is John...

Senior spotlight… Mallory Ames

July 31, 2019

July 31, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph-Ogden senior five questions. This week we spoke to Mallory Ames. What do you...

10 things you don’t know about me with Whitney Setterdahl

November 25, 2020

November 25, 2020

My favorite childhood memory is when my youngest brother Jack was born. My brother Ben and I were eating an...

10 things you don’t know about me.. Angi Landis

January 24, 2019

January 24, 2019

Every Wednesday we ask a person who lives or works in an area town to tell us 10 interesting things...

Get to know Scott Perkins

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Scott is running for the St. Joseph Grade School Board. What motivated you to run for school board? I’ve been...

Comments
Leave a Reply