Off to college: The next chapter for a Lee High Success Story

If  you've never been properly introduced, meet Liam Fairfax. 

He's front left in the picture above, and he has a pretty amazing story. I've gotten to watch firsthand this pretty amazing story unfold as Liam's Young Life leader. Some parts of that story I've learned in confidence. And those parts I'll take to the grave. You'll just have to trust me if I say that he's been through a lot to get where he has gotten. 

Other parts of his story are public. 

For instance, his high school football teammates all know how Liam helped Lee High beat the Broadway Gobblers in a game he played a few hours after attending his mother's funeral. She battled a long-term illness. Another very public part of his story is he was one of the few minority students at Robert E. Lee to attend governor's school. 

So here's the deal. 

Liam is now at my college alma mater Shenandoah University. He wants to do something in the medical field. 

I know that we could never replace the support system he had in his mom, but I thought it would be kind of cool to form a support system for him nonetheless.  Here's what I had in mind. 

• If you are reading this blog, send Liam a card of encouragement in the mail. His address is: 

Liam Fairfax

Shenandoah University

1460 University Drive 

P.O. Box 265

Winchester, VA 22601 

Make sure that your note of encouragement also contains a few bucks, too, especially if you remember those college Ramen Noodle nights. 

• If you are in the Winchester area reading this, please make sure you adopt Liam as your little brother. My Shenandoah University friends were - and still are - like family to me. So I'm calling on all my SU family still in the area to look out for my main man Liam while he's there at school. 

I wrote this blog to my hometown community and all my friends with ties to Winchester or Shenandoah University. I also want to add one sentence to the black community here in Staunton. 

For years, the older generation of blacks has rightly preached to following generations that education is vital. Here's a kid that has taken you up on that advice. And a major part of his support system is gone. I hope that "WE" will be there for him. 

Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her blog here), a father to five kids and a freelance writer for Young Life Relationships, HipHopDX.com, JamTheHype.com and other publications. His first book, You're Grounded, was published by Moody Publications last year. You can order the book here.