I had the privilege of hearing Jordan Burnham’s story Oct. 24 at IVCC on his suicide attempt and life afterwards. Jordan told of all the “little failures” he endured up until the time he decided to take his life. He was not a stereotype of someone who would commit suicide; he was successful at school and athletics. No bullying was involved here, showing again suicide can happen to anyone.

I couldn’t help but think, this could be a conversation with my own son. He was the same age as Jordan when he attempted and succeeded at suicide, and he would be Jordan’s age now if he would have survived. As I watched at this event as the Putnam County bus unloaded a group of students who lost one of their own, I couldn’t help but think “where was the PHS bus?”

My son was a PHS student in 2007, and since his death, Princeton has lost three students to suicide, three people in their late teens/early 20s out of high school and several adults (30-plus). That’s just the ones I personally know about.