There was a soft peaceful breeze in the air as the Kiley forum huddled around the crackling fire, telling stories. This was one of Courtney Kiley’s favorite days of the year. She was with some of her favorite people, surrounded by the sounds of the woods. Without warning, the sky turned a warm, hazy pink. Kiley looked up at the sky with a mischievous smile on her face. While everyone looked around at each other in confusion, she knew what was happening.
A once-in-a-lifetime occurrence of the northern lights. By now the sky was a collage of colors ranging from swirls of emerald and teal to violet and fuchsia. The sky was moving. Everyone stared up in awe at the unexpected ending to a perfect night. As Kiley drifted off to sleep with the colors circling above her she thought of her forum and the experience they had seen together. Her last thought before she slipped into a world of dreams was how lucky she was to be a part of a community-like forum. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, just like seeing the northern lights, and an experience the students and her would never forget.
Being a forum leader was not always Kiley’s role. For the first six years of teaching, Kiley didn’t have a forum, she didn’t want one. The intensity of being in charge of 30 kids seemed overwhelming, but when she made the decision to become the leader of the Kiley forum, she only looks back on that decision with gratitude.
“It’s so fun to be such a big part of these kids’ lives, and having them be a part of my life,” Kiley said. “My daughters and husband know who they are. I’ll say around my family, my own children are like, ‘Are you talking about your forum kids or us?’”
For Sam Austin, a senior in the Kiley Forum, forum is more than just a place to go and chill after school. To Austin, forum means something much more than that.
“Forum means having a place where I feel comfortable and I feel like I can connect with people who are in my grade and who are in other grades,” Austin said. “It’s a place that I can go to get help with what I’m struggling with, and to have people who care about me.” Ever since Austin was a freshman, forum has been one of his favorite places to be, and now that he’s a senior it’s hard to think about what he’ll be leaving behind when he graduates.
“I know that I’m definitely gonna cry a lot at the end of the year,” Austin said. “I love my forum mates. I love my forum leader, and I don’t think I’ll ever have an experience or a group of people like this again.”
Part of the magic of forum day is that it never takes the same shape twice, and everyone experiences it differently. Owen Swaney, a senior in the Silvester forum, takes a much more relaxed approach to forum. For him, forum provides a place to unwind while in school and tune out for a bit.
“It kind of takes some of the pressure off, because you don’t really have to do anything,” Swaney said. “You just get to be there and chill with your forum.” Swaney has been with his forum through a long period of growth coming out of COVID, and he sees his time in forum as a contribution to a healthier and happier Silvester forum for future generations of students. This change for the better over the past years is exemplified nowhere better than forum day itself.
“When I was a freshman, our forum didn’t do anything,” Swaney said. “Now that’s gotten more fun and like engaging… I’ve been there more and been more excited for forum.”
Forum contributes a huge portion to Community’s unique identity. Instead of grade or class retreats, CHS students take trips with their forum to places of their choosing. Instead of going to counselors for help, we have our own supportive forum leaders in our corner. For all these reasons and more, forum forms a large part of CHS’ image and how we describe ourselves. For many seniors like Austin, it’s something that will stay with them from high school throughout their lives. This forum day will become a memory for him to look back to for months and years to come.
One of the only constants of forum for many seniors is that it is always evolving. For Zane Swerdlow, that evolution has been even more distinct than most. He spent three years in the Mankad forum, growing and learning with its members—until it was dissolved and Swerdlow was transferred to the new Richmond forum. Still, he’s managed to make the adjustment and is looking forward to spending this forum day with his new group, when the Richmond forum will be heading to Blast Corn Maze. Most important to him is making sure that the forum’s legacy is carried on, and that he teaches the freshman how forum should be done.
“It was really nice as a freshman, and it’s really nice for me now as a senior to help freshmen, because it feels good to know that there are kids in grades higher than you that are more experienced with high school that you can talk to,” Swerdlow said. “It’s a whole new forum, but it already looks like things are coming together nicely… and I more so just feel happy for the future of the new Richmond forum that I’m going to leave, and I think it’ll be in a good place.”
Forums come in all shapes and sizes. The forum leader and the forumettes can create so many different environments. For Swaney, forum is a safe place to chill and relax, whereas for Austin, it’s a place to connect and bond with different grades. These are both examples of what a forum could be like but there are no limitations. Forum is a place to dive in and create deep relationships with other students and have a resource to go to for help. Forum can be so many things and influence so many lives and it’s an experience that truly so many students will never forget.
