Learn more here - 100 High School Innovators in Illinois | 100 High

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Innovation is essential
in all facets of society, in our
communities, our businesses, the
arts, and technology. Innovations
occur every day in every field of
endeavor. We believe it is important
to recognize innovation and celebrate
it among our young people as part
of our educational system. Too often,
we focus primarily on test scores
and grades, but they don’t tell the
whole story. The Illinois Foundry for
Innovation in Engineering Education
(iFoundry), in partnership with Paul
Ritter, a dynamic and innovative high
school teacher, committed to identify
and celebrate some of the most
innovative, creative, and inspirational
high school students in Illinois. This
program has the endorsement of
several Illinois teachers associations,
the regional superintendents of
schools, the University of Illinois,
and the Governor.
A first of its kind celebration was held
for these students at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on
May 8-9, 2015.
We have spent the past several
months getting to know some of
these outstanding students. Now,
we invite you to read the stories of
who these students are and what they
have accomplished. We feel privileged
to know these innovative high school
students and it is an honor to introduce them to you.
For additional information, visit:
innovative100.engineering.illinois.edu
By Angelica LaVito
Inyoung “Summer” Choi is changing
the culture at Centennial High
School in Champaign, Illinois.
Choi, a junior, noticed that
students were not openly opposing
bullying they witnessed at school.
To raise awareness and address this
problem, Choi founded the Choose
Kindness Organization.
“I felt that the reason there
were a lot of bystanders that don’t
stand up for the bullying that they
witnessed was because we lacked
an efficient system where students
could speak up, raise their voice
for this cause and set the tone to go
against bullying and create a friendly
environment,” Choi said.
To begin the discussion about
bullying at Centennial High School,
Choi produced a nine-minute
documentary with interviews from
students, faculty, a mother who lost
her daughter to bullying, and results
from a survey she conducted.
The documentary was shown
in all of the English classes, and
teachers led a class activity that
Choi developed. Students were then
asked to sign an electronic pledge;
there are currently 185 pledges.
“We later used some of those
responses and incorporated them
into our campaign as well, which
was pretty neat because we were
able to really create this energizing
vibe that was a result of this video,”
Choi said.
To continue the momentum
and encourage students to create a
welcoming environment, the organization started a photo campaign.
Students were asked to post a picture
of them either wearing orange or
displaying a sign with a positive
message and posting the picture to
Instagram.
The Choose Kindness Organization is expanding its reach, with
chapters at Edison Middle School
and the Champaign Park District.
Choi was first inspired to
create an anti-bullying movement
after she moved from Seoul, South
Korea. She said that as a new
student, she could easily observe
the micro-aggressions taking place.
Choi approached the school
psychologist for advice about ways
to prevent bullying at Centennial
High School. The psychologist
introduced her to members of
the administration and teachers,
including English teacher Lindsay
Aikman, who is now the faculty
sponsor of the Choose Kindness
Organization.
Choi said she respects Aikman
for the energy and devotion to
helping develop the organization.
Aikman has enjoyed working
with Choi and watching her ideas
evolve.
“She’s extremely, extremely
bright, driven, innovative and
committed to following through
on her actions,” Aikman said.
“She functions like an adult; she
functions better than some adults
I know.”
Choi’s father Jeonghwan is
proud of his daughter’s efforts
to prevent bullying and create a
positive environment at Centennial
High School. Jeonghwan said he
enjoys watching his daughter
develop the organization, as
students in Korea often do not
have time to participate in
extracurricular activities.
“After moving here, she had
time for both so she spent her
time doing that. I think it’s great,”
Jeonghwan said.
Choi said she does not know
what she wants to pursue in college.
She is staying open-minded and
not limiting herself to anything
quite yet.
“In college, I just really want
to learn everything,” Choi said.
“I just want to learn as much as
I can and really be involved in a
lot of opportunities.”
Angelica LaVito is a sophomore
majoring in News-Editorial Journalism
at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.
Celebrating High School Innovators | 3
By Jason Chun
Whether it’s softball practice,
volleyball practice or working at
the local Dairy Queen, Kelly Fraher
spends her days like any typical
high school senior. Her family owns
a Ford dealership in Pontiac, where
she will occasionally stop by after
school and in her free time to help
out around the office. However, her
mother remembers one day when
she came in ecstatic about a project
she had done in school that day—
something her mother said is not
usually the case.
“I don’t think I have ever seen
her that excited about a project
for school in my entire life,” Cathy
Fraher said.
The project Kelly was so eager
to tell her mom about was the
Gravestone Project. Her ecology
teacher at Pontiac Township High
School, Paul Ritter, had told her
class about a cemetery in nearby
Odell where soldiers from the
Civil War were buried. Some of the
tombstones for the soldiers had
become illegible due to the effects
of acid rain, which the class just so
happened to be learning about. The
goal was to go to the cemetery and
see if they could figure out who was
buried beneath the damaged tombstones.
“We couldn’t see the full
names, but we could kind of lean
a certain way and be like ‘Oh I
think this is this letter,’” Kelly said.
“It was kind of a lot of guessing and
then once we got it narrowed down
we’d think ‘Okay, this is who it is.’”
Once they had collected all the
information they could, the class
went back to school and began
researching. After sifting through
countless records and hitting many
dead ends, Kelly was able to find
the name of one of the soldiers.
Kelly was so driven that she
decided to take it a step further.
After telling her mother about
what her class had done, Kelly
convinced her to set up a free trial
at Ancestry.com so that she could
do even more research.
Through her own research,
Kelly was able to figure out more
information on the soldiers such
as where they were from, how old
they were and even their hair and
eye color.
However, she wasn’t done yet.
Unsatisfied with simply figuring
out who they were, Kelly believed
that something more should be
done to honor these men who
fought in the deadliest war in
American history.
“We ordered new tombstones
from the federal government,”
Kelly said. “We’re going to put
those in and give an overview of
who these people were and what
they did and what their role was
in the war.”
Kelly and her class plan to
hold a ceremony for the soldiers
when they replace the old tombstones. Although there is no set
date, Kelly said they plan on
having it sometime this spring.
This was the first time
Kelly had ever done a big project
like this. While her mother was
initially surprised with how
motivated Kelly was with the
project, it wasn’t anything she
didn’t expect out of her. Even
Kelly’s grandma, Rita Verdun,
knows that once Kelly gives something her full attention, there’s no
stopping her.
“Of course I’m prejudiced,
but she’s a great gal,” Verdun said.
“I think she’ll go far. She’ll do well
for herself.”
Jason Chun is a sophomore majoring
in News-Editorial Journalism at the
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.
By Angelica LaVito
Brian Gentile is changing the way
students receive help in science at
Maine South High School in Park
Ridge, Illinois.
Gentile, a senior, created a peer
tutoring program to assist students
who are struggling in their science
classes. Students looking to receive
help can register using Google Forum
or by going to the tutoring classroom.
In the first quarter the program
was offered, 49 tutors volunteered
and approximately 100 students
received help. The program is now
in its fourth quarter and is continuing
to benefit students at Maine South
High School.
While taking physics and
chemistry his junior year, Gentile
realized that many of his classmates
were struggling with the material.
Gentile was already a tutor in the
school’s math program, and asked
his physics teacher Jeffrey Downing
to sign him up for the science
program.
Downing told Gentile that a
science tutoring program didn’t
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exist, so Downing paired Gentile
with students to tutor on his own.
Gentile realized more students were
struggling in science than he had
time to help, and wanted to create
a structured program.
“I knew that rather than me
meeting with 30 different people
at six different times, it probably
would be much easier and much
more beneficial for more people
if there was an actual tutoring
program where they could meet
one-on-one, or in a little bit smaller
setting,” Gentile said.
Gentile met with the science
department head, and she told him
she didn’t think the program would
work because of the lack of funds
and lack of student interest. Instead
of accepting defeat, Gentile was
determined to persevere.
“When they told me the
program wouldn’t work, I kind of
took that as a challenge because
I didn’t believe they could say with
certainty that the program wouldn’t
work,” Gentile said.
After the meeting, Gentile
returned home and created several
ideas that he thought could work
for the high school. When Gentile
returned to the department head’s
office, he found success with one
of the ideas for the program he
developed.
Gentile’s mother Melissa said
she was not surprised that her
son persevered to create a science
tutoring program at Maine South
High School, because he’s always
willing to help anyone.
“He didn’t have to do this,”
Melissa Gentile said. “There was
no incentive to do it; he just wanted
to do it as a person.”
Gentile said Downing was
key in his inspiration to create a
science tutoring program and is
a role model. However, Downing
said Gentile pursued creating a
structured program mostly on
his own.
“He is obviously pretty creative
and innovative,” Downing said.
“He’s pretty insightful about
different things and this is just one
of the areas in which he excels.”
This June, Gentile will graduate
from Maine South High School
and pursue mechanical engineering
at either the University of Michigan
or Purdue University. Gentile
will leave the high school, but the
science tutoring program will not.
“I think it just proves that one
person can make a difference,”
Gentile said. “Just the fact that it’s
going to stay an institution after
my graduation is awesome
because we get to help Maine
South students for years to come.”
By ZoË Kaler
Nate Hartley, a junior at Naperville
North High School, was diagnosed
with dyslexia and ADHD at age
seven. For Hartley, these diagnoses
would become an opportunity.
“Because of my dyslexia, I can
do things that a lot of other people
can’t,” said Hartley, “I believe my
dyslexia is a God given gift and that
my calling from God is to show
others that people with disabilities
also have abilities, and sometimes
their disabilities can be a positive.”
Hartley is the president of
his own home products company:
Uniquely Able™ Inc.
In his freshman year, Hartley
took a woodworking class. During
his sophomore year, his teacher told
him to consider woodworking as
career.
“I turned [woodworking] into
a business, and I help out people
who have disabilities just like me,”
said Hartley.
Hartley and his Vice President,
Kody Pollitt, go to a company
called Aspire, which, like Uniquely
Able™ Inc., employs the disabled.
Hartley said employers can go to
Aspire and give the disabled paid
work.
“We bring our frames in there,
we have them stain our frames and
we have them glue magnets for our
frames,” Hartley said, “They really
enjoy this work because usually
what they’re doing all day is stuffing
envelopes and stuff that’s really not
all that fun.”
“School is great for a lot of
people,” said Hartley. “For me, it’s
not really great because it doesn’t
really give me a chance to show
what I’m good at.”
“He is very intelligent and has
found ways around his difficulty
with reading,” said Amanda Hartley,
Nate’s mother.
“Because of that struggle,”
Amanda said, “he developed a
passion for proving that people with
disabilities are capable at something,
even gifted at something.”
Hartley said that Chad Muir,
his baseball coach with dwarfism,
proves just this.
“He’s one of the most incredible
people I’ve ever met in my life,”
said Hartley.
Hartley said Muir’s coaching
is unbelievable. “That’s an example
right there of somebody with a
unique ability, and people having
to look past that disability to see
his unique ability,” said Hartley.
Muir said having disabled
employees as part of Uniquely
Able™ Inc.’s business model is an
amazing idea.
“Nate is pretty unique,” Muir
said, “He’s almost like a little
brother of mine.”
Because Hartley is not yet 18,
his mother is the current CEO of
the company. “I’m just following
Nathan’s lead,” Amanda said.
Amanda said her son is good
about promoting the business.
“He recently was in a store getting
his picture taken for his passport,
and he started talking to the guy
and convinced the guy to stock
the magnet boards in his store,”
she said, chuckling.
“I’m just so proud of him.
The amazing thing about being
young is that you don’t think
about all the negative possibilities,
you just go for it, and that’s what
he’s done.”
Amanda said she hopes the
take-away from the business is
that “regardless of who you are,
everybody has a gift or talent
that they can share.”
“For example,” she said,
“people with autism glue our
magnets together and give them
back to us in a pattern. It’s just
phenomenal.”
“We all have unique abilities
and we all have disabilities but
some of them, people just can’t
look past. I think this company
will help people look past that,”
said Hartley.
Zoë Kaler is a junior majoring
in News-Editorial Journalism at
the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign.
By Teryn Payne
With the lack of STEM (Science
Technology Engineering and Math)
resources in his community, Thaddeus
Hughes, a homeschool high school
senior from Funks Grove, Illinois,
focuses on getting youth to explore
their interests through self-discovery
and mentoring.
He dislikes when students
make statements such as, “I don’t
know anything”, “I can’t do this”
and especially, “I’m not good at
math.”
His interest for helping youth
started with his involvement in the
4-H mentoring program in his
county, along with participation in
the Students Involved in Technology
Conference.
“A lot of people in the 4-H
extension staff contributed to my
success as a mentor,” said Hughes.
With over 300 hours of volunteering, mentoring and sharing his
expertise, he was able to directly
impact over 200 youth in his
community.
He has also been a mentor for
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the FIRST Lego League and Illinois
State Robotics Competition for the
past four years. In this 12-week
program, Thaddeus helped middle
school students with the technologies
used to construct the robots and also
with demonstrating the engineering
process.
He motivated them to become
more interested in STEM while
showing them how the skills they
obtained in this program can be
applied to real life.
Thaddeus was also involved
in a 14-week afterschool mentoring
program called “Spinning Robots.”
He wanted to help fill the void that
these students had from the lack of
resources involving the STEM fields.
Not only did he design the
Spinning Robots curriculum for
these students, but he educated
them on existing background
technology programs to learn more
about things such as electricity.
From this, 20 middle school
students became more knowledgeable about basic circuits, transitions
and potentiometers, with very few
resources.
“Thaddeus empowers and
inspires students to realize that
they can do great things,” said
Connie Hughes, Thaddeus’ mom.
“He’s very active in the community
and helps makes opportunities
happen for the youth.”
On top of the numerous
mentoring programs and countless
hours of service that he provides
to the youth in his community,
Thaddeus still manages to create
inventions that are nothing short
of amazing.
This past summer, Thaddeus
began to work on his own version
of cloud file storage, which he
named “Uberbox.” He was able to
successfully complete his work on
this invention in two months.
This invention is an implementation of DropBox but has an
in-house server to maximize local
transfer speeds, keep data privately
owned and still allow for access
anywhere.
“I absolutely love Uberbox.
I use it almost every day and it is
especially helpful in our household,”
said Connie Hughes.
His main goal from this
invention is to make the system
a single, deployable unit as a
replacement router for users so they
can take true control and ownership over their own personal data.
After graduation, Thaddeus
has aspirations to study Mechanical
Engineering at the Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology or Bradley
University in Peoria.
“Sharing my passions comes
naturally and the experience of
working with others, even the
novice, can be inspirational,” said
Hughes. “I have helped expand
the programs that inspire and
create mentors that will sustain
growth into the future.”
Teryn Payne is a senior majoring
By Hana Hong
If you thought high school students
were all apathetic drones when it
comes to conducting research,
Evan Kaspi will prove you wrong.
A high school senior at North
Shore Country Day School in
Winnetka, Illinois, Kaspi has spent
the past three summers working as
a research intern at the Rehabilitation
Institute of Chicago, affiliated with
Northwestern Hospital. In doing
so, he has worked with doctors and
graduate students to conduct his own
research with the goal of helping
children with Cerebral Palsy (CP).
In the summers of 2012 and
2013, Kaspi worked in the Sensory
Motor Performance Program under
Dr. Citlali Lòpez-Ortiz. There,
he aided in a longterm project to
create a new classification scale to
describe the movement of those
with CP.
While the overarching
goal of the project was to redefine
the classification scale for CP,
the project also investigated the
effectiveness of novel grossmotor
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movement therapies for children
with CP. The creation of new,
effective movement therapies would
provide families and clinicians with
more nonsurgical options.
Kaspi researched a new
method in the summer of 2014
under Dr. Tasos Karakostas for
assessing a child’s energy expenditure. This was to allow for a greater
spectrum of CP patients to have
early access to corrective surgery.
Kaspi has also put out three posters
and an abstract detailing his work,
giving him the opportunity to
present at several poster sessions
and symposiums.
“Beyond the clinical significance
of my work, these summers have
bolstered my passion and have
given me insight into the inner
workings of high-level research
and medicine. I understand that
science is messy, that procedures
often times require fine-tuning and
that sometimes, even after multiple
trials, a clear correlation is not
observed,” Kaspi informed.
“However, that is not to say that
the work is all for naught; the
process is more valuable than the
outcome.”
Evan has been interested in
becoming a medical researcher
from a very young age. That
passion and curiosity has stayed
with him over the years, and has
turned him into quite the science
enthusiast.
“I often find myself on
tangents, simply curious about
topics that come up in class or in
my day-to-day conversations.
The answers to these questions
are often not required for an
assignment, and don’t carry with
them a grade, but I feel compelled
to find the answers for me, simply
for the sake of learning.”
Besides his determination
and outstanding stamina, he
credits Dr. Citlali López-Ortiz
for giving him his first peek into
high-level research, and his parents
for instilling in him the focus and
responsibility to pursue his passion.
Joy Fiorini and Ersin Kaspi,
parents to Evan, have been privy
to Evan’s impressive knack for
logic and inquiry. “Evan has always
been very interested in the process
of discovery. . .he is conscientious
and earnest and he is comfortable
going wherever the research leads
without a preconceived notion
of what the answers will be,” they
stated.
Kaspi concluded, “Research,
in general, is the educated pursuit
of the unknown. Medical research
just introduces a human component
into the mix. For me, that human
component is what makes the
work so interesting and rewarding.”
Hana Hong is a freshman majoring
By Emily Scott
In 2010, Keaton Keller set out to
make a YouTube channel about
technology that would be the kind
of channel he’d like to watch.
Since then, his creation,
TechSmartt, has grown to a
successful enterprise with over
350,000 subscribers that Keaton
is proud to call his own.
“I wanted to educate potential
viewers out there on some of the
stuff I knew about technology that
I wanted to share,” the senior at
Prospect High School, in Mount
Prospect, Illinois, said.
Over time, as his self-hosted
channel came up with new ideas
for videos to educate viewers on
new technology like smart phones
and other mobile devices, it gained
viewers as well as national recognition, being featured on websites
such as Yahoo and The Huffington
Post.
Being a high school student and
Youtuber has been both a challenge
and a reward for Keaton. He said
the most challenging aspect was
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time management, something he
said he improved on as time went on.
Running his own YouTube channel
and being well-known online— he
has over 19,000 Twitter followers
—has only changed his high school
experience somewhat.
“I don’t think people treat me
differently about it,” Keaton said,
adding that at school, he is known
as ‘that film guy.’
It can be difficult to stay relevant
and innovative when making
content for an industry that is
constantly changing. To achieve
relevance, Keaton interacts with
his viewers, which he said is his
favorite part about running his
own channel.
“We’re in a very personalized
space,” he said. “You’re dedicating
time to your day to watch what I
have to say. If you’re not there for
them, it’s almost like they’re talking
to a wall.”
To keep things new, he said he
tries to change up his content and
establish his own voice. One unique
aspect of his channel is the “drop
tests,” where he films the resistance of phones and devices to
being dropped.
“Through innovation, you are
able to keep things relevant,” he
said.
Keaton said he believes
TechSmartt has been innovative
because he talks to a younger
audience in a way they can easily
understand. “I think it’s a different
way to communicate to a different
generation,” he said.
The experience has brought
about many opportunities to travel
around the country attending
technology conferences and press
releases. Keaton said his parents
have aided him in being able to
participate in these opportunities,
as well as being supportive in his
pursuits.
His father, Matt Keller, said his
main supporting role for his son
was accompanying him to these
events, helping him in any way he
could, yet making sure to stand in
the background and let Keaton do
the talking.
“It was very impressive for a
13-year-old to talk to heads of
companies and ask them intelligent questions,” he said.
He said TechSmartt has
allowed Keaton to apply what he
learned in high school to figure
out how to best manage people
and make critical marketing
decisions.
After high school, Keaton
plans to continue expanding
TechSmartt and attend college
to hopefully major in business.
Emily Scott is a freshman majoring
By Jason Chun
When Daniel Rashid and Jake Knox
were assigned to come up with
an experiment for their advanced
chemistry class at Streator Township
High School, they both knew they
wanted to do something unique.
While other students in the class
discussed small-scale projects,
Rashid and Knox were thinking
bigger. They wanted to do something
no one had done before. Something
big. Something fun. Something
with fire.
“Everyone was doing random
lame stuff, like batteries,” Knox
said. “We wanted to do something
more out of the box.”
Rashid and Knox decided on
making a Rubens’ Tube, originally
invented by German physicist
Heinrich Rubens in 1905. In essence,
a Rubens’ Tube is a long metal pole
with small holes drilled along the
top of it. On one side of the tube
a propane tank is hooked up to
allow gas to flow through the tube
and a speaker is hooked up on the
opposite end. Once gas is flowing
through the tube, a flame is lit over
the holes on top to ignite the gas,
creating a small one-inch flame that
flows out of each hole. When a tone
is played on the speaker from the
other end, the flames flow up and
down, giving a visual representation
of a sound wave.
While the idea excited the boys,
actually building the contraption
proved more troublesome than
they anticipated. They faced many
difficulties with finding the right
tube, drilling holes into it and then
finding a way to safely feed gas
through it.
However, despite their struggles,
Rashid and Knox were able to
successfully build the tube. Their
first trial run was in the shop classroom at their school, with a room
full of students watching.
“There were about 50 kids in
this room, from all three welding
classes,” Rashid said. “Some kid
connected his iPod to the speaker
and it was crazy. It worked and
I was so excited about it.”
Throughout the entire process,
the boys were driven by their
genuine enjoyment of creating
something so elaborate. Yet, not
everyone was as excited as they
were about the project. When
Rashid’s mother came home one
day while the boys were working
on it, she was less than pleased
with what she saw.
“I just happened to come
home from work. . .and they’re
carrying a propane tank into the
basement,” Julie Rashid said. “Here’s
my two brilliant 17-year-olds and
I’m just like, what?”
Mrs. Rashid spoke with a few
of their teachers to learn more
about the project and got behind
the idea. John Burke, a biology
teacher and coach of the scholastic
team that Rashid and Knox are on,
assisted the boys with procedures
and lent them materials for the
project.
“I had them come in and
explain the project and we did
some searching and discussion
of how they should proceed,
especially in the safety aspect of
the project,” Burke said.
While most students would
rather have done something that
would have gotten them an easy A,
Rashid and Knox weren’t afraid
to take on the challenge. Rashid
credits their chemistry teacher,
Debra Kinsinger, for believing in
them from the beginning.
“[Daniel and Jake] are some
of my top students,” Kinsinger
said. “They’re very motivated and
were very excited about the project.
I knew they could do it.”
Jason Chun is a sophomore majoring
By ZoË Kaler
ProspectorNow, school newspaper
of Prospect High School in Mount
Prospect, Illinois, got a digital
facelift thanks to Jack McDermott.
The high school senior joined
the ProspectorNow staff his sophomore year and has since rebuilt the
newspaper’s site from the ground
up.
Now, McDermott is the paper’s
first online managing editor.
McDermott’s journalism teacher,
Jason Block, said the title of online
managing editor was created for
McDermott because of the pride he
took in the website.
“He took ownership of it and
really elevated the quality, visibility
and status of it in our community,”
said Block, “He’s really been a trailblazer for us.”
Tim McDermott said his son
“brought something new to the
school that they didn’t have before,
which was an electronic version of
the paper. It really sort of grew into
something much bigger than just
an online site. It really became an
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online paper.”
Tim also mentions that before
his son got involved with the website,
he made his mark on the paper
with “Jack’s Dessert Blog,” which
featured different desserts.
“So Jack is on the football
team and he’s on the wrestling team
and he runs a cake blog,” said Tim.
Block said McDermott
understands and embraces where
the future of journalism is headed:
online.
McDermott’s older sister, Bridget
McDermott, said she believes what
her brother is doing is innovative
because using the online platform
(and including social media) is more
relevant to high school students.
She also said it’s a quicker and easier
way to communicate.
McDermott’s mother, Lorelei
McDermott, said it was interesting
that even though Jack wasn’t an
avid social media user, “he saw that
the newspaper was turning obsolete
and that the community wasn’t
getting copies of the paper or
learning about what the students
were doing. So, he decided to go
in the direction of an online
version of the newspaper.”
“He’s definitely innovative in
that he is always willing to take a
risk,” said Block.
Block said McDermott has
especially been a leader when it
comes to multimedia pieces.
“He just shot some video, got
some B-roll, and did interviews.
As the other kids were writing
their traditional stories, there was
Jack editing up his video and
getting the perfect B-roll lined
up,” said Block.
The other kids respect Jack
and realize that what he’s doing
is the future of journalism. Block
said, “He is definitely an innovator
on our staff.”
Block said it will be tough to
say goodbye to his student of four
years. “You can’t really replace
somebody who left that kind of
mark on a publication, but it’s a
compliment to Jack to say that
we’re going to be okay because of
the legacy he’s weaved.”
“Jack is what we wish all
of our students would be,” said
Block.
Block said McDermott has
an inherent desire to improve
each day. He takes on challenges,
not for a good grade or extra
credit points, but “because he’s
genuinely interested in new
challenges and new opportunities.”
Those new opportunities
could be in business, as McDermott
said he hopes to major in business
in college.
Even though McDermott
plans to major in business, Lorelei
said journalism “has taught him
to be a much better writer” and
that she doesn’t think there is
profession where her son won’t
use the writing skills he has
learned at Prospector Now.
By Emily Scott
Until two years ago, Puja Mittal
was convinced she wanted to be a
doctor.
That all changed when she saw
a lecture at her high school, the
Illinois Math and Science Academy
(IMSA), in Aurora, Illinois, and
was introduced to the idea of social
entrepreneurship.
“That was the moment where
I thought, you don’t have to be a
doctor to make an impact,” she said.
Inspired by this, Puja, then a
sophomore, began preparing to
create her own entrepreneurialbased program to help students
at IMSA bridge the gap between
getting an idea and making it into
a business.
Eventually, she and another
student were able to create a program
called eleMENT (Equipping
Learning Entrepreneurs through
MENTorship) that teaches students
through an activity-based curriculum
how to implement their ideas and
gain confidence.
It piloted in January 2014 as a six
week long program at IMSA. In its
second running, eleMENT was able
to take their student participants
to 1871, a startup hub in Chicago,
where students worked on enhancing
their entrepreneurship skills.
“It’s been an incredible experience,” Puja, now a senior, said.
“Two years ago I wouldn’t have
even known what entrepreneurship
is. It’s helped me figure out my
passions and what I’m good at.”
Along the way, adult mentors
such as Britta McKenna, Chief
Innovation Officer at IMSA, and
Jim Gerry, IMSA’s Innovation and
Entrepreneurship Director, were
able to help her move her ideas
forward.
“I have seen Puja grow the past
two years from someone who had
an idea…to someone extremely
confident in her ability to deliver
effective content in relatable ways
and motivate her peers through her
leadership,” McKenna said.
Similarly, Gerry said he watched
Puja “grow into a mature and deep
thinking student who provides
advice that is helpful and useful
in our programs.”
eleMENT is all about being
innovative in the way that it is
activity-based and entirely
student-run and developed.
In addition, Puja said it has
permeated the IMSA campus,
inspiring other students to start
their own programs.
“Innovation is important in
that there’s always a way to do it
better,” Puja said. “Innovation also
allows people of diverse backgrounds to come together. It’s not
about being the best.”
Her parents, Prabhat and Shiva
Mittal, said Puja’s creation of
eleMENT displays her work ethic
and initiative. Along the way,
they’ve offered their support and
feedback.
“It’s a very good learning
opportunity and an experience in
how to take an idea and actually
implement it,” Shiva said. “Not
just creating the content but also
convincing other people that her
vision was valid.”
Prabhat said eleMENT is in
itself a very unique idea compared
to other school programs, and
that with its creation, Puja will be
leaving a legacy at IMSA.
Though she would love to run
eleMENT for the rest of her life,
Puja’s plans for after high school
are to study computer science and
hopefully experiment in the startup
world or maybe even teach at the
university level.
Shiva said that no matter what
her daughter decides to do, she
knows “she will do it with a lot of
passion and a lot of commitment.”
Prabhat agreed that her capability
to lead will aid her in any pursuit.
“Whatever she sets out to do, she’ll
do it,” McKenna said. “I have no
doubt about that.”
Emily Scott is a freshman majoring
La’Clesha Moore would describe
herself as outspoken. However, as
a spoken word poet, La’Clesha is so
much more. As she would claim,
she lives and breathes poetry, and it
is reflected in her work. Her poetry
is so vivid, with the words painting
clear depictions of the situation,
and her stories are so chilling, but
so clearly painted that one cannot
deny the truth in her words. With
poignant lines such as:
It’s ironic.
After ripping your car apart it
only took 8 seconds to realize you
were drunk and weren’t wearing
a seatbelt.
Only took 9 seconds to pronounce
you dead with a cell phone on the
side of you reading from Clesha.
10 seconds to wish you would
have never set your drink down.
La’Clesha’s talent is undeniable,
and is one that deserves recognition.
La’Clesha is being honored for her
2
academic achievements and
innovation in arts, media, and
literature. As a spoken word artist,
La’Clesha is telling stories that many
others her age could not articulate.
La’Clesha is an innovator, and one
that is recognized for her exceptional
talent. La’Clesha attributes her talent
for spoken work to an enrichment
class taught by her inspiration,
Jocelyn Hathaway. Ms. Hathaway
is a performance writing teacher at
Noble Street College Preparatory
School in Chicago. Ms. Hathaway
encouraged La’Clesha to join her
class, Writer’s Block, which focused
on poetry writing. La’Clesha said
she had always listened to her
mother’s poetry when she was young,
but never imagined that she would
be writing any of her own.
With Ms. Hathaway pushing
La’Clesha to do better, she eventually
got better, and Ms. Hathaway
entered her in a citywide poetry
slam called Louder Than a Bomb
with the Noble Street slam team.
This is the largest youth poetry
© iStock Photo
By Tristin Marshall
slam in the country, with 140 teams
and 1,300 poets competing in this
year’s slam. The team finished in
the top 8, and La’Clesha finished
in the top four. “Her truth and the
poignancy in her poetry earned
her respect and accolades for her
courage,” said Ms. Hathaway. “She
sees art not just for entertainment
but as purpose; hers is to make
peace with and learn from the
trauma she has experienced.”
Originally from Racine,
Wisconsin, La’Clesha had to
adjust to the drastically different
city life when she was just seven
years old. She has felt traumatic
experiences such as dealing with
mental illness in her family
and the death of her best friend.
However, La’Clesha has used
poetry to become stronger after
these tragedies. She has given
a voice to those who have been
through similar situations, a voice
that has since reached hundreds.
“I am aware that challenges only
make you better,” says La’Clesha
in an essay. “I am a firm believer
that if you find a hobby and fall in
love with it, it can make life much
easier.”
Although only a high school
senior, La’Clesha has and will
continue to give a voice to those
who are unheard. After graduating
from high school this year, she
hopes to major in communications
and journalism in college. “Her
direction is my inspiration to
continue as a teacher despite any
and all inevitable obstacles,” says
Ms. Hathaway. “She rose above;
so can I.” And so can many others.
Tristin Marshall is a junior majoring
in Media Studies at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
By Tristin Marshall
“Make the world suck less”, the
slogan used for the internet-based
Do Something Organization, is
what sparked the fire in Jackson
Nannie to make his community a
better place. As a member of the
Metamora Township community,
about 16 miles southwest of Peoria,
Jackson has taken the vision of a
national organization and brought
it back to his hometown. Since
2013, Jackson has made a large
impact on the Peoria community
in more ways than anyone could
imagine.
Jackson began his journey
to help those in need as a camp
counselor during the summer and
in the after-school program for
Peoria Friendship House in 2013,
where he mentored younger students.
Although Jackson was faced with
dangerous situations, such as being
threatened to be stabbed by an angry
fifth grader and having to take
charge when a shooting next door
forced him to lead young children
out of harm’s way, these adversities
2
fueled him to continue to help the
Peoria community in any way he
could. Between 2009 and 2013,
the percentage of Peoria residents
living below the poverty level was
17%, which is three percent higher
than the state percentage. “When
I go on service projects in Peoria,
I see people living in dilapidated
houses with no food,” said Jackson.
“They’re in the middle of Peoria—
it’s not a third world country, but
the conditions are very much like it.”
With the help of Laura Clark,
the executive director at the Peoria
Family House, and many others,
Jackson was able to “Make Peoria
suck less” through his efforts
in successfully organizing the
First Annual Peoria Project. The
community was not only able to
raise $500 for the organization, but
they also collected enough peanut
butter to make more than three
thousand peanut butter sandwiches
for those in need. “He has accomplished so much—and shown his
servant heart to so many,” says
Clark. “He inspires me with his
passion for service and ingenuity
in developing new and creative
ways to get involved. He doesn’t
just talk a good game, he does
whatever he can to make it happen. And he makes a lot happen.”
Jackson has also taken the
initiative to create a Science,
Technology, Engineering, and
Math (STEM) Club for the kids at
Riverview Grade School, grades
kindergarten through fourth.
With help from Emily Dawson,
a science and special education
teacher at Riverview Grade
School, Jackson has been able to
conduct a program that the kids
love. “He’s such a leader—a natural leader. The kids listen to him
and respect him, and he can get
his passion for science across to
the little kids and inspire them,”
says Dawson. “He’s going to be
an inspiration and a leader in any
field he goes into.”
Teachers and community
leaders are not the only ones
in his corner. Jackson’s mother,
Lisa Nannie, is one of his biggest
cheerleaders. “It’s been really
exciting [watching him grow up],”
something she says puts a smile
on her face. “There’s a joke [that
I have] and I say he was born as
a 35 year-old [man], because he’s
always been mature, even as a
young child.”
“He’s driven. No matter
what he decides to do with his life,
he’ll be incredibly successful at it.
I have high hopes for him,” says
Ms. Nannie.
Tristin Marshall is a junior majoring
in Media Studies at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
By Hana Hong
Meet Melissa Pratt, filmmaking
extraordinaire. A senior at Glenbrook
South High School, in Glenview,
Illinois, Melissa spends hours upon
hours perfecting her craft. Not only is
she an avid artist and hiphop dancer,
she is an exceptional video producer
with over 30 published videos.
Having dabbled in film, documentaries, narratives, public service
announcements and commercials,
Pratt has truly etched her way as
one of the youngest participants
in the filming industry. She is
acknowledged for producing a
Glenbrook Morning Announcement
show, and has received first place
awards from the 5th Annual Northbrook Youth Film Festival and the
20th Chicagoland High School Video
Festival, along with three silver
awards from the 21st Chicagoland
High School Video Festival.
“I am a student film producer,
looking at the world from multiple
perspectives, and finding my niche.
It is my goal to create beautiful
films and inspire others through
my work. I am still learning and
hopefully improving,” Pratt stated.
Pratt has been filming since
she received her first flip camera in
the seventh grade. Since then, she
naturally fell in love with the world
of film. Starting with the production
of stopmotion music videos, she
had already uploaded over 32 videos
on YouTube by the time she began
high school.
As of today, Pratt has made six
documentaries, six narratives, four
music videos, three public service
announcements, three interview
shows, and five feature stories. Her
many accomplishments include
working as a documentarian for the
Illinois Department of Corrections,
the Julie and Michael Tracy Family
Foundation, Forever Digital
Memories and Varsity Views.
However, it wasn’t always that
easy for her. “When I was hospitalized
for my depression, I was out of
school for a month in treatment
and there was a question if I should
keep doing film. This is because
film can be very stressful and a big
time commitment, and I didn’t have
a good enough mental health for
that. But I chose to stay and I kept
making videos,” Pratt admitted.
How has she gotten to where
she is now? The yearning for success
and completion motivates her every
step of the way. Pratt explained,
“The feeling you get when you
are done with a film is the most
accomplished feeling ever and
that feeling motivates me to keep
doing more. I love to shoot interviews and conduct them. I love
really getting their story out and
not just getting the top layer.”
Mark Ferguson, a television
teacher and mentor to Melissa for
three years, agrees with Melissa’s
devotion to the art of film.
“I have been very impressed
by the quality of her work and her
dedication to her craft. Melissa is
a fun person to be around, but
when it comes to filmmaking she
is very, very serious,” Ferguson
reported. “Her seeking feedback
on a regular basis impresses me, as
many young people are reluctant
to hear criticisms of their work,
but Melissa has a strong desire
to excel and realizes that likes
on Facebook or YouTube aren’t
enough to sustain a serious filmmaking career.”
Balancing extracurricular
activities and homework can be
challenging, as Pratt knows all
too well. Sharon Pratt, mother to
Melissa, attested to Melissa’s
unbelievable dedication. “She
woke up at 4:00 AM to be driven
to an abandoned prison to do a
shoot in the middle of winter.
Her dedication to her art and her
refusal to back down, tell her story
of her love of film.”
And she’s not done yet.
Melissa plans to further her
successful journey in the world
of film. Upon being asked why,
she confidently replies, “I believe
I am here in this world to make a
difference, whether big or small.
I believe the best way for me to do
this is to use my gift and to make
films. This is my art, it is what I
am good at, and it is what I want
to continue doing for the rest of
my life.”
By Angelica LaVito
Science is more than a subject in
school for Miriam Ross. For Ross, a
sophomore at University of Illinois
Laboratory High School in Urbana,
Illinois, science is an opportunity to
improve the lives of others.
Ross has Phenylketonuria
(PKU), a condition in which a
person does not have the ability
to properly break down the amino
acid phenylalanine and can pose
serious problems if left untreated.
She takes KUVAN to maintain her
levels of the amino acid.
Ross spends her Fridays and
Saturdays at the University of Illinois
with Professor Scott Silverman’s
team of graduate students conducting
research that could potentially
provide a foundation for improved
PKU treatment.
Ross learned about research
that Silverman’s lab was conducting
through an article, and was eager
to get involved but was not sure she
could because of her age.
“She said to me, ‘Oh this is just
the kind of research I would love to
know more about and maybe even
get involved in,’” said Ross’ mother
Jaqueline. “ ‘Do you think they would
ever let a freshman participate in
the lab and volunteer there?’ And
I said, ‘Well, why don’t we ask him?’
So we did.”
Ross contacted Silverman
and the three met to discuss the
possibilities.
“I wanted to make sure she
was genuinely interested and her
parents thought it was a good idea,”
Silverman said. “Once I was satisfied
with those things I said, ‘Absolutely.
Let’s do this.”’
As a freshman in high school,
Ross was initially unfamiliar with
the laboratory. Regardless, she
began volunteering with Silverman’s
graduate students, who helped
familiarize her with procedures.
“It was kind of intimidating,
but also very exciting because
there’s so much you can learn from
them and there’s so much they can
teach you,” Ross said.
Now a sophomore, Ross
continues to work with the
graduate students to conduct her
research project. Ross is trying to
find ways to use DNA as a catalyst
to break down phenylalanine,
and has recently made progress in
identifying successful sequences.
“We’ve gone through three
major phases. At the moment,
we have found one that works
consistently,” Ross said. “We’ve done
about six or seven experiments
working on optimizing it, and it’s
been going great.”
Silverman points out that
even if they successfully develop
catalysts that break down phenylalanine, the process of drug
development is more complex.
“But you have to start somewhere. The history of science
shows that practical advances start
with basic advances,” Silverman
said.
Silverman is an inspiration
to Ross, as he has helped her learn
the steps in developing a project
and how to focus on larger research
concepts. Ross said she feels very
lucky to have the opportunity to
work in Silverman’s lab.
“It’s not just that I get to work
on this experiment, it’s valuable
life experience for reaching out
to people and learning how to be
more independent and learning
what research at a real lab is like.”
Ross plans to pursue something in biology once in college,
and may look into research
opportunities at the college she
chooses to attend. Volunteering
to do research has already taught
Ross valuable life lessons.
“If you have an interest in
something just really reach out
and go for it,” Ross said. “The worst
that can happen is they’ll say no.”
By Hana Hong
Armed with only a sewing machine
and an interminable appetite for
fashion, up-and-coming fashion
designer Alina Srichinda is already
making major waves on the runway.
A junior at Whitney M. Young
High School in Chicago, Alina
strives to empower women with
her style and raise awareness on
innovative designing as a whole.
She excels both academically and
creatively, all with an undeniable
flair for style.
Although Alina learned to sew
at age 8, her infatuation with fashion
design was triggered practically
since the day she was born. Before
she was able to sew, she started by
rubber banding her clothes in various
ways to transform them into something new.
Tracy Kiddy, Alina’s mother,
witnessed her daughter’s undeniable
knack for fashion. “From the age
of 3, Alina would show up in our
room to surprise us with the most
creative outfits. She would crack us
up. She enjoyed the response she
got from us,” she said.
According to Srichinda, the
greatest motivation for her work
stems from the feeling of accomplishing a piece of work and being
able to get a reaction from the
audience.
Srichinda pursued her fashion
exploits through fashion courses
offered at school and was able to
participate in three school fashion
shows with three different collections.
Her many fashion escapades include
studying abroad in France,
participating in the Chicago Fashion
Fest and working with a group on
an avant-garde dress for the Ebony
Fashion Fair.
It was there at the Ebony
Fashion Fair that the idea of the
“Drop Dress” was born.
“I loved the combination of
our short flirty skirt against the
elegance of the long flowy draping.
I realized that having both, in a
single dress, could really broaden
the world of fashion.”
The Drop Dress, merging
convenience and individuality,
plays on the notion of one outfit
containing two ensembles. Always
beginning with a shorter dress,
the upper halves have endless
opportunities. The skirt length
then doubles in length with easy
fastens, and drops down into an
entirely new look.
The original design of these
dresses first appeared in a Whitney
M. Young High School Fashion
show as a finale piece, turning
a pastel spring collection jacket
and bubble skirt into a long black
gown. Since then it has been
enhanced and modified, eventually
being featured in two Chicago
Fashion Festivals to citywide
audiences.
The hours of hard handsewn
work certainly paid off. The dress
received first place at the Ebony
Fashion Fair and was showcased
in the Chicago History Museum.
Besides her inherent aptitude
for style, Alina attributes much of
her notable success to her parents,
asserting, “My parents are very
fashion forward and the most
supportive people in my life.
Without their never-ending
support I would not be where
I am today and I am eternally
grateful for them.”
In turn, her parents couldn’t
be prouder of Alina’s accomplishments. “I see that fashion is a big
deal to her, but in a very, very
natural way. As a busy young
adult, she makes the time for it. . .
she works with what she has, and
does a great job at it,” said Stephen
Srichinda, father to Alina.
Ultimately, Srichinda hopes
to pursue her fashion craving and
work in the fashion industry.
Although it’s her passion,
there can be challenges, Alina
admitted. “Sometimes sewing can
get the best of me, so I just have
to remind myself to take a deep
breath because fashion is something I truly love.”
By ZoË Kaler
Sushil Upadhyayula and Pranav
Upadhyayula are twins and sophomores at the Illinois Mathematics
and Science Academy in Aurora,
Illinois. They started their own
tutoring company, called The
Tutoring Twins, after noticing
discrepancies in the traditional
adult-child tutoring system.
Sushil said the idea started
when the twins were in elementary
school. The twins saw a market for
tutors for students who wanted to
advance into the enrichment or
gifted programs. “There weren’t
many people who could help
address those needs, so last year
in ninth grade, we really acted
upon that,” said Sushil.
Pranav said tutors are mostly
adults who have not taken the
specific tests to get into the gifted
programs.
“We, on the other hand, have
been accepted into these gifted
programs at a very young age
and have prepared for them,” said
Pranav. “We know what it’s like
and what you have to do in order
to excel on these tests.”
Pranav said they have compiled
many strategies that are vital to
success and they use these strategies
in their teaching.
“Another part of Tutoring
Twins is that we donate part of our
profit to nonprofit organizations,”
said Sushil.
“We give back to our community because we know that
our community has helped foster
excellence in us. So, by donating
back, helping other students, that’s
something really good on our part,”
said Pranav, “It’s a social cause we’re
helping. We’re addressing an issue.”
Pranav said they plan to expand
their tutoring team to others who
are trustworthy, equally gifted and
“equally invested in giving back to
the community.”
Although the organizations
they give to do not help with
tutoring, Sushil said they are still
a vital part of the business. “They
help us achieve our mission to give
back,” he said.
“We charge really low fares,”
said Pranav. He said money is
definitely one of the least important
parts of the business.
“What we’re trying to do is
help foster a community that’s
very vested in their own academic
interest, because when people
care about studies, they do much
better. It really shows we could
be one step closer to improving
the human condition around the
world and that’s really our ultimate
goal,” said Pranav, “Our motto is
that we ‘inspire excellence’.”
The twins’ father, Prakash
Upadhyayula said, “They are both
very eager to help.”
He said before the twins started
their company, they frequently
helped teach their grandparents
how to use technology, specifically
light boards and laptops.
“They would sit with both
of them and show them patiently
how to use it, how to set it up,”
Prakash said, “They operate at the
level of the person they interact
with, having patience to sit and
explain and re-explain, or whatever
it takes to help people understand.”
Prakash said, “They want
everybody around them to be
successful as well and whatever
they have learned, they’re very
eager to share to help everybody
else be successful.”
“My wife and I, we are both
very proud to have them as our
kids,” said Prakash.
By Teryn Payne
While Tanner Van De Veer, a
senior at Washington Community
High School, has always excelled
academically, he still yearned to be
challenged intellectually. He found
interest in most of his classes, but
felt his art and engineering classes
were the most enjoyable and
interesting.
From there, he realized that he
wanted to find a way to incorporate
both of his interests, and look
for ways to explore art through
technology.
“My main goal is to combine
the two subjects to see what interesting results I can obtain,” said
Tanner. “I wanted to push the
boundaries of art and engineering so
I started focusing on 3D printing.”
So far, Tanner has created two
major pieces through 3D printing
that have won awards in local art
shows. He does his work with 3D
software that stays in a digital form,
but he prefers it when his designs
are printed.
One piece is a robotic hand,
that has the potential capabilities
of moving, with strings attaching
the fingers to a half sphere coming
from the center of the hand. This
sculpture is a representation of
humans and our interaction with
the Earth.
It is up to the viewer’s interpretation if the hand is supposed to be
helping or hurting the Earth, by our
actions as human beings.
Tanner’s other invention is a
piece of artwork that will be featured
in an art show on the University
of Illinois campus. This piece is a
model of a utopian city with a functioning handle and gear attached.
The city sits on the gear and
the handle is used to rotate the city
around the platform. He chose to
make the city white while the gears
and the handle are red. With color,
he was able to add more expression.
“The piece utilizes a gear system
that allows the viewer to turn the
society using the attached handle,”
said Tanner. “The components are
all housed in a printed base, and
the utopian society is then glued
to the biggest of the gears.”
While some of Tanner’s
inventions have a deeper meaning,
others are just made for fun such
as the phone case he created for
an iPhone through 3D printing.
One of Tanner’s main
supporters of his craft is his
former art teacher Katie Smith,
who challenged him to take his
ideas to the next level artistically.
Ms. Smith was such an
inspiration because, while some
teachers don’t put in the effort to
genuinely get to know their
students and individual interests,
she truly cares.
“Tanner is such an unbelievably
hard worker and I expect nothing
but good things to come from
him in the future,” said Smith.
“He stays every day after a full day
of school to continue working on
his inventions.”
Tanner’s art pieces are so
innovative, he is one of the first
to enter 3D printed pieces into art
shows, and sometimes the judges
have a hard time evaluating his
work.
“Tanner has a great passion
for design along with a common
sense perspective,” said Brad
Van De Veer, Tanner’s father.
“He focuses on real world issues
through his designs, which are not
only good looking but functional.”
After graduation, Tanner
will be attending the University
of Cincinnati, studying Industrial
Design. The program is ranked
No. 3 in the world.
“I want to focus on making
things come to life. It’s easy to
create a design, but the difficulty
comes in making it functional,”
said Tanner.
Teryn Payne is a senior majoring
By Angelica LaVito
Alan Zimmerman knows what it
takes to be a successful business
owner. The Eureka High School
senior owns and operates his own
detailing service, Zimmerman
Auto Detailing.
When Zimmerman was a
freshman, he held a part-time job
as “shop kid” at Vermeer Midwest,
an equipment dealership. He helped
detail equipment, and his performance led one of his coworkers
to ask Zimmerman to detail his
vehicle.
Zimmerman agreed, and once
he completed the vehicle, other
coworkers asked if Zimmerman
could work on theirs as well.
“Everybody else liked it, so one
after another they started becoming
my customers,” Zimmerman said.
“Word of mouth spread from there,
and we’ve never really advertised;
it’s always been by word of mouth.”
Zimmerman’s customer base
grew as word spread and began to
include individual accounts as well
as company accounts.
2
“He does a good job; he’s
pretty particular at what he does,”
Ginny Zimmerman, Alan’s mother,
said. “People have pretty positive
comments that he does a good job.”
Zimmerman has continued to
find success with his business, and
today he serves customers from
Bloomington-Normal to Galesburg
and has three employees. His company has detailed a wide variety
of cars, tractors, boats, and more.
Jason Bachman, counselor
at Eureka High School, has known
Zimmerman since he was a freshman.
Bachman has watched Zimmerman
grow his business into what it is
today.
“As an entrepreneur I see
someone who takes an idea and
runs with it and makes it into an
actual moneymaking enterprise,
and he’s done that,” Bachman said.
Bachman is an inspiration
to Zimmerman, as Bachman has
taught Zimmerman that he can
accomplish his goals, whatever
they may be. Zimmerman strives
to provide the best quality service
he can to his customers, and he is
always researching new products
and methods for detailing.
“When I was a shop kid
I enjoyed my job I guess, but I
always wanted to be somewhere
I could grow and kind of go
anywhere with it,” Zimmerman
said. “That’s what I think is
awesome about this; there’s really
no limit to how far we go and
what we do with the business.”
Derek Stewart, owner of
Stewart Flooring, has served
as Zimmerman’s business
mentor in Zimmerman’s pursuit
of developing his company.
Stewart commends Zimmerman’s
entrepreneurship and commitment.
“I think that’s been a big
part of his success,” Stewart said.
“People have come to know and
trust that if he commits to something it will be accomplished.”
Ginny Zimmerman said
there are times when her son is
facing a deadline and will not
return home until after midnight,
to finish the project. She is not
surprised that her son is already
a successful entrepreneur.
“He’s always been full of
energy, a leader who wants to do
new things. He’s just always been
a person that likes to try different
things,” Ginny Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman is heading to
Illinois State University this fall,
but hopes to continue pursuing
Zimmerman Auto Detailing. He
is preparing his current employees
to take on more responsibilities
while he moves on to a new chapter
in Bloomington-Normal.

Learn more here - 100 High School Innovators in Illinois | 100 High

Transcription

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