HINSDALE STUDENTS EARN DEGREES
The following students from Hinsdale participated in December commencement ceremonies at their respective colleges and universities.
• Jack Gerami, bachelor’s in U.S. culture and business practices, University of Kentucky
• Nick Giammanco, Georgia Tech
• Samantha Guido, bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, magna cum laude, Iowa State University
• Adam Motzel, Georgia Tech
• Maggie Rowe, bachelor’s in psychology, University of Iowa
• Jake Wertz, doctorate in sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
CENTRAL TEACHER WINS BOOK AWARD
Angelique Burrell, an English teacher at Hinsdale Central, writer and mom, can now add “award-winning author” to her long list of accomplishments.
Her young adult novel, “A Mark in the Road,” was chosen winner of the Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project book competition Jan. 23.
“I was honored to be a finalist and winning is beyond my expectations, especially after learning about the talented authors who were also finalists,” Burrell said. “I am without words, partly because I’m jumping up and down.”
Burrell will win a cash prize and the opportunity to appear at author events at Illinois libraries, as well as the chance to have her novel included in a select collection of ebooks available to the public through their libraries.
CHESS TEAM PLACES 12TH AT STATE
The Hinsdale Central chess team placed 12th at the IHSA state finals Feb. 9-10 at the Peoria Civic Center.
Senior Wilburt Chu was undefeated at Board 3, earning 5.5 points for the team, and junior Akshay Naik was undefeated at Board 6/7, earning 5 points.
Other competitors on the state team finished the seven-round competition as follows.
• senior Sebastian Aziz, 5 points, five wins
• senior Marwan Hamoui, 5 points, five wins
• freshman Theo Han, 5 points, five wins
• junior Rebecca Cortez, 4.5 points, four wins
• senior Shivum Banerjee, 4 points, four wins
• senior Nikolas Theotikos, 2.5 points, two wins
• sophomore Rajinder Atluri, 1 point, win
• freshman Atharva Naik, 1 point, win
• freshman Sohan Chamarthi, .5 point, draw
The team was ninth at sectionals and first at conference, earning its third consecutive WSC championship.
The following students competed at conference:
• Theotikos, 5th
• Chamarthi, 6th
• Cortez, 9th
• Hamoui, 12th
• Chu, 13th
• Han, 14th
• Naik, 18th
• freshman Joanna Marsten, 21st
The team ended its regular season undefeated, and three students finished the regular season with perfect scores: Theotikos, 8-0; Chamarthi, 7-0; and Aziz, 5-0.
FOOD PANTRY RECEIVES GRANT
HCS Family Services was one of 16 food pantries to receive a total of almost $1 million from the DuPage County Board to assist with vehicles, capital equipment and technology purchases. HCS’ share was $29,050.
In August 2023, the county established the Local Food Pantry Infrastructure Investment Program to provide funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to food pantries. These funds will assist with capital equipment purchases that help the pantries store, package and deliver food or essential commodities. Funds also may be used for information technology investments for data collection, reporting or for issuing payments.
COLLEGE STUDENTS RAISE MONEY
Emma Canty and Jacob Chaudhry of Hinsdale, students at the University of Iowa, participated in the school’s Dance Marathon 2024, raising $1.4 million for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
They were among more than 1,100 students who participated in the 30th annual event. Dance Marathon is the UI’s largest student organization and has raised more than $35 million since its first event in 1995.
