St. Charles East, North seniors take victory laps to celebrate pending graduation

With local leaders cheering them on, St. Charles East and St. Charles North seniors on Sunday took victory laps around their respective high schools as they get ready to receive their diplomas.

On Monday, they will line up in Northern Illinois University’s Huskie Stadium to accept their diplomas. Among those offering their congratulations to the St. Charles East graduates on Sunday was Kane County Board Chairman Corinne Pierog, whose son, James Pierog-Sheehan, is a St. Charles East graduate. Pierog led the students in chanting “East!”

“The opportunities that St. Charles has presented to you are going to last you a lifetime,” Pierog said in addressing the graduates. She then shared with the graduates a portion of the poem “Desiderata,” written in the 1920s by Max Ehrmann, a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana.

“Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans,” Pierog said in reading the poem. “Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.”

Also offering their congratulations were St. Charles School Superintendent Jason Pearson, St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek and Wayne Village President Eileen Phipps. Campton Hills Village President Mike Tyrrell took part in the parade around St. Charles East along with Pierog, Vitek and Phipps.

Phipps took note of the additional challenges presented to the graduates because of the pandemic. And she offered them some advice.

“Always find a way to give back,” she said. “If this past year has taught us anything, it’s that we need to reach out to each other and to help each other.”

Vitek also congratulated the students for the successes they achieved in the face of the pandemic.

“Tap into the life that is given to you,” she told the students. “On behalf of the city of St. Charles, we are very proud of you and we wish you success in life.”

St. Charles East senior Isaiah Irlbacker was part of a committee of students, parents and staff members that planned Sunday’s festivities as a way to celebrate their pending graduation safely.

“We were meeting over Zoom earlier this spring to talk about how we can bring the community together as we exit high school and move on to the next phase,” Irlbacker said. “This is something new for St. Charles East and we’re very fortunate enough that we get to do this.”

Irlbacker, who will attend the University of Illinois at Chicago to study urban planning and public policy, said he would love if the victory lap became an annual tradition.

“This was due to the pandemic, but I would love to see the school continue with this moving forward,” he said.

To say that he is looking forward to graduating on Monday is an understatement.

“I think that after everything we’ve gone through, to come out at the other end is a great feeling,” Irlbacker said. “I’m glad we’re coming out of it in a way that’s bringing people together.”