A Day in a Volunteer's Life: The James Flannery Story

James. Photo by Cece Two Lance '14. Copyright Red Cloud Indian School.

A Day in a Volunteer's Life: The James Flannery Story

By Cece Two Lance '14

James Flannery is a small town guy from Clinton, New Jersey. James graduated from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY in 2012, which is a Jesuit school just like Red Cloud! Mr. Flannery is currently finishing his Masters degree in Secondary Education from Creighton University in Omaha, NE. If all goes well, he will be graduating in May 2014.

Who knew James had a twin brother named George Joseph who is a graduate student in International Relations at the University of California San Diego? 'Cause I sure didn’t. 

James enjoys reading, watching TV, trying new restaurants, having a good time, and relaxing. He loves Mexican food and macaroni and cheese! He’s indifferent about what his favorite color is but he sure does like blue though.

I asked James how and why he chose Red Cloud High School. “The graduate program I am in assigns people to various schools in the Midwest upon acceptance, and the program assigned me to the Volunteer Program here at Red Cloud,” he said. “I stay here, though, because of the energetic and friendly students, supportive staff, and opportunity to learn about a new culture.”

James’ daily schedule during the week is rather routine and consists of waking up at 6:45 or 7 am, arriving at school between 7:30 and 7:45, eating breakfast, reading his morning emails and making any last minute copies for the day. After school, James often drives bus 10 to Manderson or has a staff meeting until late in the afternoon. James teaches both freshmen and seniors in the Spiritual Formation Department. He usually works in his classroom until 5:30 or 6:00 pm grading papers or catching up with colleagues. He then goes home to eat dinner with other volunteers before returning to his classroom to plan lessons, clean, and grade papers from 8:00 until 10:00pm most nights.

Outside of the classroom and teaching, James does a lot of bus driving and attending school sporting events. On his weekends he likes to spend most of his time on the road traveling to see new sites or visiting friends in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. “I hope my life does not bore you too much,” said James Flannery.