Alumni Spotlight: Frankie Parks
Interview conducted by Ann Huddleston, Alumni Relations
Being an alumni starts the moment we graduate. Frankie Parks attended Spring Ridge, Elkhorn Ridge Middle School and graduated from Elkhorn South High School in 2024. While it hasn’t even been a year since graduating, she has kept herself quite busy! Frankie is currently a first-year college student, works locally with kids, dabbles in photography, and has mastered the art of giving back to the community.
Where are you going to college?
I am currently attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I am majoring in Elementary Education, with a concentration in early childhood education as well as a concentration in early elementary education. I want to teach 2nd grade and would love to teach in Elkhorn!
What activities are you participating in currently?
Currently, I am in a sorority, Chi Omega. I love spending time with my sisters and working with our philanthropy, Make a Wish Nebraska. I also work at Elkhorn Kids Campus.
Any hobbies?
I love reading, crafts, hanging out with my friends, watching movies, and spending time with family.
After last year’s tornadoes, you started a GoFundMe for the people affected. Can you walk me through your thought process and what made you decide to help?
After I got home from work at EKC, I saw that my mom was watching the news. I hadn’t realized how close it was until I got home. My mom told me she was worried about two of my teachers, Mrs. Melissa Simons and Ms. Abby Magers; they lived in an area that was hit very hard by the tornado. I decided to send Mrs. Simons an email to see if she was okay. I didn’t really expect a response so soon, but sure enough, about 5-10 minutes later, Mrs. Simons responded and informed me that the side of her house was destroyed and Ms. Magers’ house was completely leveled. My heart sank in my chest. I knew I had to do something but I felt completely helpless; I couldn’t drive over to them and help right away!
I thought for a minute, and then I got an idea. I asked my mom if I could start a GoFundMe. She agreed that it would be a good idea. I started the GoFundMe and posted it out to all my social media, as well as sending it to a bunch of group chats and texting as many people as I could. I believe our goal was 10,000 dollars. However, within the hour we hit our goal, AND doubled it. Everyone I knew was reposting, sharing, and donating; it was unbelievable. I felt so connected to my community and such a sense of pride. The donations kept coming in, everyone texting me and sharing their excitement as we all watched it grow. The next day at school I had people coming up to me wanting to talk about it, and several students in my grade coming up with ideas of their own. Gift cards, a form to sign up to buy books to replace the ones they lost (they were both English teachers with huge collections of books that they cherished). Everyone really came together to help out. The GoFundMe kept growing and growing and growing. We hit $88K about a week and a half after I started it.
How many families were you able to help and did you get to meet any of them?
The GoFundMe was really for Mrs. Simons and Ms. Magers. I never expected so much money to be raised. I already knew both of them because Mrs. Simons was my AP Lit teacher and Ms. Magers was my Student Council representative. I really don’t have a strong concept of money, but I was informed by Ms. Magers that my GoFundMe was the reason she was able to rebuild her house, which is wonderful! It felt really nice to see my impact on my teacher’s lives. I’ll never forget a specific moment during the whole event of the tornado cleanup, which I’ll share with you now. My mom and I went to check on my teachers during the cleanup, and I’ll never forget seeing their homes for the first time. It was so surreal, and I had never seen anything like it. I spotted Ms. Magers first and went up to her. I had no idea if she knew about the GoFundMe, but to help ease her mind a little, I showed her and updated her on how much we had raised so far. I’ll never forget how it felt to hug her as we cried together about the situation. It made such an impact on me; I’ll never forget how I felt in that moment… extremely connected. Mrs. Simons also gave me a huge squeeze when I saw her, helping lighten the mood. I really didn’t start the GoFundMe for any recognition, but I am glad I get to share the story and hopefully inspire others to create GoFundMe’s when someone they know has been impacted. There truly is nothing to lose, and no harm in starting one.
You are working at EKC (Elkhorn Kids Campus). I’m sure you’re super busy! How is that going?
I absolutely love my job. I have been at West Bay EKC for four years now, and I have subconsciously adopted those kids as my own. Those are my kids. I love them all so much and look forward to seeing them every day. There is not a day that I don’t enjoy working with kids, and I cannot wait to continue working with kids in the future.
What are your plans for after college? (more college, job, etc..)
After college, the dream is to teach in Elkhorn. I received such a wonderful education in Elkhorn, and I would be overjoyed to return and “give back” to the district I love so dearly.
