December 11, 2025
City Academy 2020
Cardinal Ritter High School 2026
Jerone Boggs, a senior at Cardinal Ritter College Prep, has his sights set on a future in architecture. A 2020 graduate of City Academy, Jerone traces his passion for the field back to his childhood. “I always liked to draw when I was a kid,” he said. “And I thought maybe I should do architecture because that invokes my creativity. I thought it suited me best.”
That passion has already led Jerone to two consecutive summers interning at The Lawrence Group, a major architecture firm in downtown St. Louis. As part of the St. Louis Internship Program (SLIP), he worked full-time, gaining hands-on experience that went far beyond filing papers. “They knew I was in high school, but they didn’t treat me like a child,” he said. “I actually got to see projects and got to walk in and see what they were doing.” One of those projects was assigned directly by the co-founder of the firm. Jerone and his fellow interns were tasked with surveying an area of downtown St. Louis, analyzing which buildings were occupied and how they contributed to the neighborhood.
Jerone enrolled at City Academy in second grade and quickly developed strong relationships with his classmates and teachers. He especially remembers the impact of Mr. Ray Speed and Mrs. Shalawn Fennoy. “Mr. Speed always pushed us to best students we could be,” Jerone said, recalling times when he couldn’t head out to recess until he had finished reading a set number of pages. “Mrs. Fennoy really connected with us emotionally and let us be who we are.”
City Academy also played a key role in preparing Jerone for secondary school. After graduating, he attended Lutheran North for junior high before transferring to Cardinal Ritter for high school. “City Academy really prepared us for what was to come going from middle school to high school,” he said. “They just exposed us to many things and opportunities that we were ready to go to the next level.”
Through City Academy’s alumni program, Jerone has stayed connected with the school community. He meets regularly with L.E.A.P. Director David Maia, who visits him on campus throughout the school year. Jerone has also participated in professional development opportunities, including a job-shadowing experience at M3 Engineering with City Academy Trustee Marjorie Melton. He completed the 4-H Youth Futures program twice, where he stayed overnight on the University of Missouri campus and prepared for the college experience. And he even returned to City Academy last spring to volunteer at Field Day.
Jerone’s goal is to earn a full-ride scholarship to an HBCU to study architecture — Howard University is currently at the top of his list. His advice for current City Academy students? “Take every opportunity that’s given to you. Explore your options. Be open to ideas and opportunities that are presented to you.”