Jeb Buchner

I started preschool at CCS in 2005 and graduated in 2019, but my family had been involved with the school since I was born. In fact, my handprints were on the sidewalk before I began attending there! Even as I left my physical mark on CCS, it, too, left its mark on me. It’s sweet to reflect on those early years, as I continue to appreciate how faithfully and consistently my primary and elementary teachers pointed me to Christ.

Even as elementary and middle school shaped and formed me, my high school years are the most memorable. The leadership program was a unique experience with so many fun and sweet memories. One of my favorite memories is during Winter Ex of my sophomore year. We had a beautiful trek lined up for the day, and my team was enjoying the fresh air and savoring the experience. On the descent from the mountain, it started to snow! To a bunch of Tallahassee natives, that was a totally new experience. We caught up with a few other teams and started singing Christmas carols on the way down the mountain!

Many of what some would consider “negatives,” I would argue, were some of the most impactful parts. For example, small class sizes mean you don’t get to pick and choose friends from a wider pool, but I’d argue that in the workplace, you don’t often get to choose your coworkers. Similarly, in churches, you don’t pick the individuals in your congregation, but are called, regardless of personality differences, to pursue community together.

I’ve always been part of a small educational group and have loved it. I studied materials engineering at Auburn for undergrad, and my cohort was smaller than in high school (~12)! Now I've moved on to my PhD in materials science at Vanderbilt, and the same is true here. Educationally, these were intentional choices I made to be part of a smaller group, which I think have been beneficial to me. Having smaller classes allows me to engage my teachers and professors more often, something that was cultivated during my time at CCS.

These days, I’m in Nashville with my wife and CCS alumna Jessie, who brought two cats into my life, and we have since obtained a third. At home, you can find me cozying up with a book or tending my 20-some houseplants. During the week, you can find me in the lab or in a cleanroom making nanoscale material samples or measuring them for my PhD. When the weather is nice, you can find me hiking trails or occasionally on the side of a cliff, climbing the rocks. On Sundays, you can find us at our local church, where we’ve both had the opportunity to teach Sunday School to elementary-aged students.

CCS teachers and staff care about students and not just their performance. There are so many ways CCS helped shape and develop me over the years, and I’m thankful to know that the work continues even now!