Kimberly Cross

Who is Kim Cross?

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Kim Cross
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Kimberly Cross was born on Nov. 3, 1960 at Copley Hospital in Aurora, Illinois.She was first born of three children (Julie (Cross) Strelak and William) of James and Mary Cross.They lived on Church Rd. in Aurora until 1964 when they moved to Boulder Hill, Illinois.She attended Oswego schools and graduated from Oswego High School in 1978.

An auto accident left Kim blind nearly 25 years ago.On March 11, 1977 she was driving south on Rt. 25 at Mitchell Rd.It was a rainy night and visibility was bad as the windshield wipers were ineffective.She was driving a Mustang and collided head on with a Buick Skylark.Her face was smashed.Her cheekbones were shattered and had to be wired together.Her nose was crushed and reduced to dust.The surgeons had to take a piece of bone from her hip and rebuilt her nose.Both eyes came out of socket!The left optical nerve was stretched and the right one was severed.She endured numerous reconstructive surgeries over the next couple of years.

She began working as a receptionist at Schmidt Real Estate about two months after the accident.She was a junior in high school at the time of the accident and was tutored for the rest of that year.She went back to school for her senior year.She brought her grade point average up from about 1.5 to 3.75.She continued to work at the real estate office in Aurora until August 1978.At that time she went to Chicago and lived at the Illinois Visually Handicapped Institute until Christmas.In January 1979, she became a student at Waubonsee Community College.She attended there until June 1981.She then began the Social Welfare program at Aurora College in September 1981.She finished her degree requirements in December 1983 and continued at Aurora College, taking additional courses in criminal justice to complete enough credits to achieve a minor in C.J.

While in college she worked at the Kendall County Record in Yorkville helping to prepare the papers for mailing.She worked for about 4 years at Parkside Lanes doing telemarketing beginning in 1985.She returned to the real estate office (now Schmidt-Crest Real Estate) in 1990 until l993.

Kim started training in May of 1984 at the Crisis Line and began volunteering in July.She has completed more than 7000 hours and volunteers there today.She trains new volunteers, appears in speaking engagements and participates on an advisory board.

She continued her education at College of St. Francis in Joliet in 1988 and finished the Addictions Counseling Certification program in December 1990.She initiated a private practice in 1991, doing group and individual therapy and continues that practice today.She also began working at Taking Control as an addictions counselor in 1998.

Kim has attended the The Warehouse Church in Aurora for more than ten years.She has served there in many ways and is currently a co-leader of the nursery and a part of the C.A.R.E. team.

Kim has been an example of someone who has used every bit of strength and opportunity that God has provided and used it to improve herself and her ability to help others.Without the advantages many other people have she worked hard to become a professional counselor and to be able to help many people.But she is so unassuming that acquaintances often are unaware that she has achieved so much.When asked to describe herself she simply says, "I am a professional aunt, and love it."

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