Passions drive recent Canal Winchester graduate into a new chapter of life
GROVEPORT – By the time Justice Wills was a sophomore at Canal Winchester High School, she had the credits she needed to graduate.
This left her with a unique set of choices: finish her secondary education by taking a number of elective courses, enroll in a career center, or graduate early.
She opted to complete as many elective credits as possible — until she discovered the Criminal Justice program at Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Center (EFCTS). As a child, she was was drawn to the hit television show “Hawaii Five-O,” which piqued her interest in detective work. That served as one of two passions that held true over time and helped lead her to Fairfield Career Center.
While the choice to explore a new place with unfamiliar people presented obstacles and advantages, Wills used the experience to carve her own personal path. It was while serving as an assistant prosecutor in a mock trial class activity that made her realize that her true desire was to pursue and focus on law.
Finding her future career path gave Wills the confidence she needed to pursue other things she is passionate about. She is a talented songwriter and vocalist, learning to play a song from “The Nutcracker” on her toy piano by the age of four. Today, she plays ukulele, piano and guitar — almost completely self-taught — and has aspirations of making it big on a show such as American Idol.
The pandemic allowed Wills more time to practice and focus on a music career, as well as navigate life’s challenges through song. Some of her work and performances can be found on her YouTube channel, and she’s currently working on an EP, a collection of songs about the experiences she’s faced over the last two years.
Wills said none of this would be possible without the support of friends and teachers she has met since enrolling at Eastland-Fairfield. Her criminal justice instructor, Bill Moore, has become one of her top fans of both her career in law and music.
“Mr. Moore is definitely more than just a teacher. This is more than just a classroom. This is more than just a program … it’s a family,” Wills said.
What’s next for this recent graduate? Wills will start classes at Wright State University this fall, where she plans to pursue a degree in forensic psychology with aspirations of continuing on to earn master's and doctoral degrees. She also committed to the National Guard. Some may struggle to juggle it all, but she said the time management skills she learned at EFCTS have made her realize she can do a lot more than she ever thought she could.
Moore said, “She’ll be successful in whatever she wants to do. The sky is the limit for Justice.”
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Passions drive recent Canal Winchester graduate into a new chapter of life
