McHenry Times

Four Community Unit School District 300 graduating seniors who plan to pursue a career in education we honored with scholarships in honor of the late wife of former district superintendent Norm Wetzel.

Seniors Berenice Corona, Kylie Martin, Lily Farnum and Lindsay Miserendino were recognized for each being awarded $1,000 LEAD Stella Wetzel Memorial Scholarships during the May 23 Board of Education meeting.

"With the amount of perseverance these four have shown over a most unusual and challenging high school career, to say the least. I believe Stella Wetzel, who's a former Illinois State University graduate and D300 English teacher, would be so proud to see the continuance of students being called to enter the field of education," Molly Fisher, a D300 educator, said during the meeting. "We hope to see you guys all return to the community as future employees of District 300."

The board also recognized three other students, one from each of the district's three high schools, who each came up with the winning shoe design Superintendent Susan Harkin wore to the different graduation ceremonies. The scholarship program, Anne B. Miller Graduation Ceremony Shoe Design, was started in 2016 by D300 board President Anne Miller. District staff vote on a winning shoe design from each school and the students who came up with it each receive a $500 scholarship and a chance to see the Superintendent walk on stage wearing their work. This year's recipients were Lauren Braswell, Felisa Lascano and Ruben Rivera.

District 300 has three high schools: Jacobs High School, Hampshire High School and Dundee Crown High School. This year each school's graduation ceremony was spread through the day of May 20th. Superintendent Harkin attended all three ceremonies, wearing the winning shoe design from each school.

More than 1700 senior students graduated this year, according to the district's website. The impressive group included a number of great achievements, including 100 AP Scholars, three National Merit Semifinalists and 271 National Honor Society members. They earned 4271 dual credits during 2022, completed 2116 AP exams over the four years and have at least 446 industry certifications. The cohort also amassed over $15.6 million in scholarships.