CHICAGO
After arising at 4:50 each school-day morning, 16-year-old Sonia Brown leaves home at 5:25 to make her way by Chicago Transit Authority bus and train through the streets of the third-largest city in the U.S. Her destination: seminary class.
Alfred Johnson attends the same class, delivered each morning by his ward's Young Men president, Jared Miller.
On the other side of the city, Reggie Radford attends seminary each morning with four other people — classmate Tahir Edwards, co-teachers Joseph and Fernanda McCammon, and Lewis Clark, the ward member who drives him to seminary.
These three are among a cluster of high-school-age students who venture out early in the morning to attend seminary in Chicago.
Sonia and Alfred are members of the Chicago 1st Ward, Wilmette Illinois Stake, and attend with about a dozen other students at their ward's meetinghouse. Some of their classmates are from the Chicago 5th Ward (Spanish) which meets in the same building.
Sonia says she occasionally slept in and missed class during her first two years of seminary, but has perfect attendance this year. To avoid walking along dark streets early in the morning, she catches a train near her home that takes her to a stop where she catches the bus to the meetinghouse for a total commute of about 20 minutes. After class, friend Virginia Hitimana drives her to school at nearby Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center.
Seminary is a good way to start the day, said Sonia, whose family joined the Church when she was 5. She noted that when seminary was canceled one morning because of a snowstorm, the day felt different; not as good. She said her friends at school aren't surprised that she goes to "Bible study" before school. Some even ask her questions. One classmate, she said, enjoys attending Mutual with her.
"Sonia is the nicest, most humble person I've known in a long time," said first-year seminary teacher Jared Green. "She is gracious and kind to everyone, upbeat, never late. She has a very good testimony and gives insightful answers to questions."
Alfred, 17, was baptized four years ago. He said his family had moved into a home previously occupied by members of the Church. When a ward member came by to visit the previous occupants, not knowing they had moved, he ended up sharing the gospel with Alfred's family.
Alfred said he goes to seminary because he was told he needed to go to prepare to go on a mission.
After seminary, he catches a bus for a half-hour ride to Amundsen High School where he is a junior.
Brother Green said Alfred has been impressed by Brother Miller's commitment to the gospel and willingness to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning to give Alfred a ride to seminary.
"Alfred has been a boost to our class; he's the 'cool' kid," Brother Green said.
His class is drawn from ward boundaries that include more than a million of Chicago's population, he said, so most go to different inner-city schools after seminary.
"As a seminary class, they mesh together well," he said. "They have a spirit of unity. They sense they need to stick together."
While they have strong spirits and study the gospel, they are well aware what the "world" around them is like, he said.
Reggie's seminary experience is different. He and Tahir of the Hyde Park Ward, Chicago Illinois Stake, are almost always the only students who attend.
"Seminary is pretty fun, as long as somebody is there with me," he said, referring specifically to Tahir.
Reggie, a lifelong member, had his commitment tested when a fire did considerable damage to his family's home just before Christmas. His room was destroyed, but he said he was fortunate that he kept most of his most important things in another room. He copes with the experience by trying not to think about it, he said. A neighbor offered Reggie's family a place to stay during reconstruction and Reggie continued attending seminary, getting up at 4:30 each morning.
A 16-year-old sophomore at Urban Prep Academy, Reggie said he enjoys playing football. He has set a goal to graduate from seminary.
Giving him a spiritual boost, he said, was attending an EFY session in Ogden, Utah, last summer. He enjoyed the classes and "hanging out with people," including new friends he made.
He enjoys studying the Book of Mormon in seminary this year and was especially impressed with Nephi's obedience as recorded in 1 Nephi 3.
Brother McCammon said Reggie and Tahir "are about as rambunctious as two boys can be" during class, but really pay attention. "It means a lot for them to get motivated to be committed to come." While there are six students enrolled, Reggie and Tahir are the only ones who come faithfully, he said.
