2017 NNHS CTE AWARDS

Congratulations to Kelli VanDahm on being recognized as the Naperville North Accounting Student of the Year. Kelli is an outstanding Accounting student that has exceptional attention to detail. She is a classroom leader who is focused and prepared. She has a solid understanding of the larger picture and connects new knowledge and skills to past concepts. Next year, Kelli will be attending the University of Illinois where she has been accepted into their Business program.

Business Law offers practical knowledge of Business Law, civil law, criminal law, and general law issues. Students get to learn about the law, think like a lawyer, and apply that knowledge. During the semester, Business Law students have the additional opportunity to learn through special events including classroom visits from a few attorneys and field trips to the DuPage County & US Federal District Courthouses. The biggest highlight of the class every semester is when Naperville North business law students go head-to-head against business law students from Naperville Central in the courtroom. Working with a partnership with attorneys from the law firm of Ottosen, Britz, Kelly, Cooper, Gilbert & DiNolfo Ltd., business law students prepare their case for trial. The students then present their case at the Cross Town Mock Trial (which happens on April 28th at Naperville City Hall). She is a leader in the classroom and incorporates constructive ideas to improve her performance immediately. We have the opportunity to meet with attorneys and judges throughout the course and she is very receptive to their suggestions. Her professionalism is evident in the presentations throughout the course and we are looking forward to having her lead our team against Naperville Central. Best of luck to KC next year in college and to whatever he chooses for a career.

Dillon excelled in AP Computer Science as a sophomore and always exceeded expectations on his programming labs. His enthusiasm inspired those around him to push themselves. This year, Dillon is exploring machine learning in the STEM Capstone class. Last year, Dillon was the software lead for the Huskie Robotics team and is currently mentoring a new software lead. Dillon has also participated in various programming competitions outside of school and recently represented NNHS as part of the Programming Team. Dillon shares his passion for STEM as mentor of a neighborhood FIRST LEGO League team, involvement in Physics Club, volunteering for the PUSH Excel summer camp in Chicago, and coordinating numerous other STEM outreach events in the community. Congratulations Dillon!

Sarah is being recognized for receiving the Advertising/Marketing Department Award. This school year Sarah took both, Advertising and Marketing. Although she missed an extended period of time due to injury during the fall semester, she still excelled in the classroom. Sarah is a highly motivated individual and produces high quality work. Next year as a senior, Sarah will look to continue to excel outside of the classroom as she looks to carry on her volleyball and track & field career. Sarah is undecided about where she will be attending college, but would like to major in neuroscience.

Lillian Yuan currently serves as the NNHS DECA President. Lillian has accomplished many things during her 4 years at NNHS, but nothing compares to the contributions she’s made to NNHS DECA. Not only does Lillian help chapter members excel in competition, but she’s an outstanding leader and role model. Lillian has been a state and national qualifier for all of her 3 years in DECA. This year, she won 1st place at state in Buying and Merchandising. She also won the Illinois Marketing Foundation of Education Scholarship for her leadership and scholastic achievements. Lillian is hoping to attend Yale in the fall. Congratulations Lillian on your outstanding achievement!

Vivian Yuan serves on the NNHS DECA Board in the capacity of VP of Community Service. Vivian is an exceptional young lady with an immense passion for service. This past fall, Vivian organized along with the National Honor Society, a community yard sale which raised close to $2,000 to aide in the Swifty Foundation’s fight to help children with cancer. In addition to this great achievement, Vivian consistently excels in competition, works with the chapter members to help them succeed and acts as a role-model in leadership and citizenship. Vivian also is a recipient of the Illinois Marketing Foundation of Education Scholarship and the Harry A. Applegate Scholarship awards. Great job Vivian!

Elizabeth has taken 5 business courses at NNHS. Her performance in those courses has been outstanding and she has proven to be a classroom leader and role-model. Elizabeth’s passion is business and law. She is preparing herself to someday be a successful businesswoman. Next year, she will major in a special program at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana which will allow Elizabeth to pursue her dreams. Congratulations and we wish you continued success!

Amy has taken Culinary Arts 1, Culinary Arts 2, Food Science and Senior Foods. She has a passion for Culinary that can be sometimes overlooked since she is on the quiet side in class, but she is a collaborative worker and works well with everyone and improves her classmates skills and is wonderful to teach. We are looking forward to seeing what she does after graduation.

Shelby is being recognized as the Early Childhood student of the year as she goes above and beyond in her lesson planning and interaction with the preschool children. I had the pleasure of working with Shelby her entire Senior year as she took Early Childhood 1 & 2. It has been so fun to watch her learn and grow into the teacher that she is today, and watch her bond with her special child William grow! Shelby will attend Brigham Young in Provo, Utah as a special education major as she continues her journey towards becoming the amazing teacher we all know she will be!Mary Claire has gone above and beyond in the Early Childhood Education program here at Naperville North. Her passion and enthusiasm for the subject matter shines through her lesson planning, teaching strategies, and interaction with the children. Mary Claire will be attending Marquette Univeristy in the fall to study Elementary Education. It was a pleasure to guide her in her first steps towards her dream careerpath. She is on her way to becoming such an outstanding teacher one day! She will be greatly missed by all in our Huskie Preschool!

Irene has taken both Fashion Design and Merchandising here at North. She continues to work with the fashion program at North by being a TA in Fashion Merchandising. She has gone on the New York Fashion trip twice to continue to explore her interest in the industry. Irene has a passion for Fashion. She is up-to-date with current trends and is excited to learn what is to come. She is fashion forward and eager which would make her a great fit in the ever changing world of fashion. She is happy to help her peers brainstorm ideas or work through obstacles and is always ready to collaborate and share her ideas. Irene would be an invaluable asset to the Fashion world.

Kelly has taken Interior Design and is taking the Capstone Interior Design class next year. Kelly is a sophomore but her work in class and her interest in Interior Design show a great maturity and interest in the subject. I am looking forward to seeing what she learns and creates next year. She is certainly deserving of this award!

Layla is the type of student we hope to have in Health Occupations. She is very interested in the field of medicine and is open to learning about various careers within that field. Not only is she interested, but she is dedicated to making the most of her experience in this class. She is an active participant in class, on her rotations and during various field trips. She’s also gone above and beyond to seek out additional opportunities to explore medicine outside of the classroom by seeking out an internship and mini-medical school program for the summer. As a junior, Layla is well on her way to finding the perfect health care career for her and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for her! Congratulations, Layla!

Emma has taken Introduction to Teaching 1 at North. While in the course Emma was a model student and great role model for her peers. She went above and beyond with the lessons that she created and her passion and excitement for the profession was evident and contagious. Emma is hard-working, dedicated, curious, and kind. She always walked into the room with a smile and was a pleasure to be around. Any classroom would be lucky to have Emma as their teacher!

Ellie has taking Culinary Arts and Nutrition 1 with Mrs. Israel, Culinary Arts 2 with Ms. Hillyer, Food Science and Senior Foods with Mrs. Bostrom, Early Childhood 1 with Mrs. Nadelhoffer, Early Childhood 2 with Ms. Smith and Introduction to Teaching 1 with Mrs. Oskroba. She has even taken Marketing and Adverting with Mr. Reid and Mrs. Kafer and we all agree that she the right choice for this award. Mrs. Ireal, who retired a few years ago when asked said “Of course I remember her! She was very kind, diligent student whom I could count on to a assist whenever and wherever she was needed.” Mrs. Kafer, who retired last year, said “Ellie is a quiet leader, respected by her peers and the faculty alike. Her personal initiative and innovative approach to problem solving will take her wherever she wants to go.” She is a fun, wonderfully creative, independent thinker and the Outstanding Family and Consumer Sciences Student of the Year.

The kid that everyone didn’t know they knew. Why do I say this? He is the creator and owner of the White Hyundai Genesis Coupe that is an inch off the ground, with those crazy cambered wheels, that you see driving around town. He created this car by himself and did all the work by himself. He is an extremely dedicated and hard worker that leads by example. Things need to get done, Derek is your guy. Entrepreneurship is in his future. Anything he puts his mind to is achievable. He is undecided if he is going to join his friends @ Ferris State to study automotive engineering or continue his small business of fabrication and auto repair he does out of his parents garage. So in closing, I’m proud and honored to have Derek Bartlett study in my shop the past 3 years and be 2017 NNHS Auto Shop Student of the Year!

Kris Heinz has been a student in the woods program for the last four years here at North. Through these years he has displayed exceptional craftsmanship, problem solving skills, and a great vision. Kris has the ability of seeing a project completed before it ever gets started, a skill that greatly benefits his woodworking talents. Through the years Kris has constructed everything from jewelry boxes and cutting boards to hope chests and Roman thrones. Kris’s attention to detail is second to none. He sets a great example in the shop for our underclassmen striving for that exceptional project and never hesitates to land a hand or advice when counseled. Congratulations to Kris Heinz, our 2017 woodworking student of the year.

Innovative, creative and hardworking are words that come to mind with the projects Max would do in class. He took every project as an opportunity to be creative and make something outside the usual designs. Max created a launcher project that was efficient and mathematically calibrated. He’s the type of student that represents what Research and Design is about.

In 2017 Jessie has dedicated herself to working in an independent role for the Graphic Arts Class, and I am glad she did. The request for her services has been ongoing and she has tackled each event with dedication and creativity to bring fully realized projects to production. It started with a series of projects for the NNHS Fashion Show (booklet, ticket form, posters and t-shirt design), closely followed by a logo design for a new Naperville Company (Tuk-Tuk), then into the Senior Week celebration which culminated in a series of life size super hero cutouts for photography, then related signs and posters. And that just brings us to April. Jessie has shown to be the consumate professional in each project which required her to meet with the clients and make each and every update, change they requested, all keeping her wits. Jessie has informed me that she intends to study Visual Communication at Ball State in the Fall, which will be their gain and our loss. Good Luck Jessie.

Michael has taken a variety of tech ed classes, he has an excellent attention to detail, creative in his designs and innovative in class. The research and design class provides an outlet to come up with different solutions, try different ideas and create an original prototype. Michael takes these attributes from the class and provides quality designed products.