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Grace Shin said her ethnic heritage was a subject of curiosity among her elementary classmates in suburban Detroit. "I was asked often, 'Are you Chinese or Japanese?' And I would say, 'No, I'm Korean,' " Shin recounted. "And the other kids would be like, 'I don't know what that is.' " But they quickly learned what mandu was, as Shin's mom would serve the popular Korean dumplings at the school's cultural exchange event. "People loved it, and I remember feeling so much pride,"...
As someone who spent her childhood in Hinsdale and returned after college to live and work in the area, Laura Liss has watched her hometown grow and change. Now, she's helping to keep that growth and change going, both as a business attorney and as chair of the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. "It's both a personal and a professional sense of pride to be involved," said Liss, who joined the chamber as a member in 2019 and served as a board member and vice chair...
Hinsdale Central junior Teagan Dunn has long been a devotee of the Chicago theater scene, taking in numerous productions over the years with her mom. During her time with the Central's drama club she's served with the backstage crew, supporting the action on stage. This season Dunn has come out from behind the curtain as a student director for one of three one-act plays Feb. 9-11 in the school's auditorium (see Page 18 for details). An internship last summer with the BAMtheatr...
Whether as a student in its classrooms, a worshiper in its pews or an employee in its offices, St. Isaac Jogues Church has always been part of Lara Krupicka's life. Now a resident of Naperville, Krupicka makes the drive to Hinsdale four days a week to work in the church office. Every Monday through Thursday she takes phone calls, answers parishioners' questions, completes payroll, composes the weekly church bulletin and takes on special projects, including the creation of the...
Mary Osanloo and her family moved to Hinsdale from Chicago right before the new school year, and their fifth-grade daughter knew no one. A touching "Welcome to Oak School" sign appeared on their front yard within the week, courtesy of the school's PTO. Osanloo reached out to the group, hoping to connect with others before the first day back. "(The PTO) responded within 24 hours and they asked any fifth-grade girls available to come to Corner Bakery to meet her," she...
As assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at Hinsdale Central High School, Jessica Hurt knows every day will include a few surprises. A particularly happy surprise came recently when she got a phone call informing her that she had been named the Assistant Principal of the Year for the DuPage Region by the Illinois Principals Association. Hurt didn't even know that Principal Bill Walsh had nominated her for the honor, which recognizes individuals who meet a long...
It took Alyssa Harris a few months to come to terms with settling down in the town of her upbringing, now with offspring of her own. "I felt a bit of impostor syndrome," she confessed of the move in April of 2021, "where I'm walking around seeing my friends' parents or my parents' friends, saying, 'Hi Mrs. and Mr. So-and-so,' feeling like I was a kid playing an adult." Alyssa, husband Alec and son Theo, 2, lately have been adjusting to being a family of four after the arrival...
Like many teenagers, Grant Glowiak didn't consider himself the smartest, most athletic or most talented of his peers at Lyons Township High School. But at his church's youth group, none of that mattered. "Standard cliques didn't necessarily apply in that space," said Glowiak, who grew up attending First Congregational Church in his hometown of Western Springs. Now, as associate pastor and director of youth ministries at Union Church in Hinsdale, Glowiak said he wants to create...
In early October, Nazareth Academy's football team had a unusually scheduled Thursday night game. Hinsdale's Brady Linn, a reserve senior linebacker/wide receiver, recalled his coach's message after the victory. "He said, 'I want to give you Friday off to experience what it's like not having football on Friday, because it's going to be gone soon for you seniors,' " Linn said. "From that point we were playing to just stay together, and that kept us going." The team kept going...
Kristin Sweis discovered her knack for fundraising as a member, treasurer and eventually president of the Elm School Parent Teacher Organization. It didn't take long for others in the village to discover it, too. With two daughters enrolled at Hinsdale Middle School, members of the school's PTO approached Sweis with an invitation to step in as president this year. The invitation likely was a result of her success at Elm, Sweis said, where during her two years as president the...
On the cusp of becoming an empty nester last spring, Terri Sasnau was intent on giving back through volunteerism. "It had been on my list of things to do for a very long time," Sasnau said. "So I signed up for several different organizations." One of those was Hinsdale-based HCS Family Services, which needed help distributing food at its pantries in Memorial Hall and at Anne M. Jeans School in Willowbrook. It wasn't long before Sasnau became a regular presence. "I enjoy the...
Jaclyn McNamara rose to the ranks of president of the Hinsdale Junior Woman's Club quickly. She said that's partially due to her inability to say no, but mostly because of her commitment to the good that's accomplished by the organization's 271 members. McNamara was new to the community when she joined the 73-year-old organization in 2017. She said she joined as a way to meet her neighbors and stayed to make a difference in the lives of neighbors in need. "You don't think the...
Briana Brandt Murray said Christmas Day for her family is a usually a low-key day at home. Christmas Eve? Not so much. "We usually go to my sister-in-law's house nearby. My husband is the baby of 14 kids. My daughter is the 46th grandchild," Murray related, estimating a 65-70 person guest list. "It's large." Growing up in Hinsdale, Murray fondly recalled the holiday season, seeing her St. Isaac Jogues School decorated for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the town festooned in...
When Chris Black finished high school at age 17, the Carbondale resident said he didn't think twice about what would come next. "It was natural for me to go on to SIU (Southern Illinois University)," Black said. But it didn't take long for Black to realize that while he wasn't quite ready for academia, he also didn't want to stick around town. That's when he made the decision to "see the world" as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. Over the next several years Black did see...
Mike Hayes was 15 when he got his first taste of the rigors of recreation management. "I oversaw the adult softball leagues - turning on the lights, setting up the bases and getting yelled at by all the 16-inch guys as a youngster," Hayes recalled. "It gave me some tough skin." It also gave him direction toward a potential livelihood. "It kind of just drew my interest, and I thought, 'Maybe there's a career in this field,' " he said. Last month Hayes began work as...
Tom Kloster's life hasn't always followed his intended path. But despite some unexpected curves in the road, Kloster isn't complaining about where the detours have taken him. Kloster left Hinsdale Central High School with ambitions to become a veterinarian, but Kloster said one particular class was the final nail in the coffin of his veterinary career. "I was a victim of organic chemistry," Kloster said. With two years of college under his belt, Kloster spent the next two...
New Hinsdale Middle School principal Cory Burke got an assist from a veteran District 181 school leader when the post became available. "(The Lane principal) Brandon Todd was someone I worked with back in Schaumburg, and he actually rang my phone one day, kind of out of the blue, and said, 'There's this opportunity in Hinsdale we think you'd be great for,' " Burke related. After looking into it, she agreed. "I was really impressed with the high achievement and the dedicated st...
When Becky Schreiber left a career in accounting to stay home with her young twins, she wanted to find a way to give back to the community. She decided to support education, first by volunteering at the twins' preschool and now Madison School, where she is co-president of the PTO with Heather Rooney. "I do have time and flexibility in my schedule," said Schreiber, who was the PTO treasurer before becoming co-president two years ago. "What greater way to give my time and resour...
Two years ago, Hinsdale's Zach Hayes and his Nazareth Academy classmates were enduring the disruptive distancing wrought by the pandemic. A Student Council member, Hayes and his cohorts came up with a plan to reunite the Roadrunners. "We planned a drive-in movie night at the school, complete with popcorn and snacks," related the present-day senior. "It was kind of a cool way to get everybody there during COVID, just being able to be with friends." Hayes' penchant for taking...
Kathleen Hanley's transition from working professional to mom also marked the start of her journey into a brand new career. "After my third child, I worked part time," said Hanley, who spent 15 years researching and developing hospital products after earning a degree in biomedical engineering from Marquette University. As she stepped away from full-time work, Hanley said she found herself getting more involved with her community. A resident of Glen Ellyn at the time, she...
The American Girl website describes their newest doll, Claudie Wells, as "most likely to have five college majors." That's just one thing that Claudie has in common with Rio Lewis, the Hinsdale girl chosen as Claudie's real-life model. The ambitious 11-year-old said she plans to attend Julliard before embarking on a career that will involve movies, television and Broadway. She also wants to be an animal rights activist, and one day open her own school to teach others about...
A sermon delivered in church one Sunday stuck with Mark Wanless for years. The message was about the importance of volunteering one's time, when and if that time becomes available. As the father of four saw his children begin to make their way through high school and on to college, he found himself with time to give to his community through his involvement in the Rotary Club of Hinsdale. "Rotary is an organization I've always been intrigued with," said Wanless, a resident of...
Preparing for the Hinsdale Central Drama's upcoming production of "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" has been a departure for theater veteran Julianna Wittrock. "It's 30 plays in 60 minutes, ranging (across) all different genres," the senior said. They range from the whimsical, like the importance of hands, to the unsettling or philosophical. "I do one about wanting to shake my child to death," Wittrock related. "And I get to talk about the lyrics to 'Crank That' by Soul...
There's hardly a football field, baseball diamond or basketball court in or around Hinsdale where Craig Cassell hasn't coached a game. Supporting kids is important to Cassell, and not only his own. The father of three is one of 13 people from across the country to serve on the SEAL Family Foundation Board, leaders of a nonprofit that supports U.S. Navy SEALs and their families through training, service, deployment and beyond. "We are the primary funder of SEALKIDS," Cassell...
This summer, Mr. Gust went to Washington. Hinsdale native and Duke University junior David Gust cut his policy-shaping teeth in the Beltway as one of nine college students selected for a DeJoy-Wos Family Foundation Scholarship to attend eight weeks of programs with The Fund for American Studies. The double major in economics and public policy also interned at the American Enterprise Institute, a public policy think tank. "I like the idea that you can change the world through...
