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Mackenzie Crawford is knocking on Broadway’s door. Following her passion for music and theatre, Crawford was very involved in theatre, show choir, choir, and speech while attending East High School. Those opportunities led Crawford to be nominated for Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role through the Iowa High School Musical Theatre Awards for her role as Janet Van De Graff in East High School’s spring musical of The Drowsy Chaperone during her senior year. She went on to be chosen as Iowa’s Best Female Actress during a regional awards program and traveled to New York City to participate in the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, called “The Jimmy Awards”. After numerous auditions, Crawford placed among the top 20 best actress nominees and performed a solo of Janet Van De Graff on the stage at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre.
Her credits don’t end there. Crawford also attended Kristen Chenoweth’s Broadway Bootcamp in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, for three years – performing “For Good” from Wicked with Chenoweth at the Grand Ole Opry during Crawford’s junior year.
Since graduating from East High School, Crawford has been pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre on a full scholarship at The University of Michigan, one of the country’s most prestigious musical theatre programs. After graduation, she plans to move to New York City to pursue her dreams of performing on Broadway while also recording music and modeling.
Casey Mills discovered green grass and opportunities close to home.
A 2002 graduate of North High School, Mills was active in golf, tennis, and hockey in high school. However, it was his civics teacher, Mr. Twait, who inspired his future career on Capitol Hill.
Following high school graduation, Mills attended the University of Nebraska before following his passion for leadership, working for Senator Chuck Grassley in Washington, D.C. and on Grassley’s campaign in Des Moines. Earning his MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois, Mills became a strategy consultant for Accenture Strategy.
After being away from Siouxland for 14 years, Mills and his wife Emily had a change of perspective and moved back to Sioux City where they discovered a wonderful community to raise a family and grow a business. Despite the misconception the grass is sometimes greener in larger cities, Mills found a safe place to raise his family and new opportunities to make a positive impact.
Today, Mills is part of the team at Mills – Shellhammer – Puetz & Associates Insurance and has given countless hours and resources over the years to support non-profit organizations in Sioux City, including the Sioux City Public Schools Foundation. His work with the Foundation has been personal, not only because he was an alum of Sioux City Community Schools but also as a business owner. Mills believes strongly the public school system is the heartbeat of the community, and Siouxland cannot succeed and grow without quality public education.
Jama Farah will never forget his humble roots.
A 2003 West High School alum, Farah moved to the United States when he was 11 years old. He was the son of a single mom with six children, and Farah and his siblings encountered their share of cultural, financial, and other challenges. Financial assistance programs and community support lessened his family’s burden of looking and feeling different from peers in school.
After graduating from West High School, Farah attended Morningside College where he majored in business. Today, Farah is in wealth management banking with U.S. Bank in Omaha, Nebraska.
While Farah has found his own road to success, he remains committed to helping others – just as his family was helped years ago. He is active with the Sanford Center, an organization that had a profound and positive impact on his life.
In addition, Farah has remained involved in the Sioux City Community School District, supporting students through the Sioux City Public Schools Foundation as a board member and treasurer and his support of the Foundation’s “Adopt-a-Graduate” program which helps students in the District pay for their graduation caps and gowns.
