Harper College toasts 'Distinguished Alumni' honorees

It's hard to picture David Gott, the sharply dressed general manger of Woodfield Mall, in his high school years.

Long before running the day-to-day operations of the suburban shopping landmark, Gott was a "directionless" teen flunking gym class at Wheeling High School. At 17, he wanted to graduate early, take some time off from academics and find a job.

His mother OK'd only the first part of Gott's scheme, telling him to enroll at Harper College so there was no gap in his education. Gott agreed.

"Had Harper not been there, I would have stopped my education, and I probably would have went to work and never gone back," Gott said. "That's what a community college did for a directionless young man, gave me something so I kept my school going until I had a direction."

Gott returned to the Palatine campus to join fellow recipients of the Distinguished Alumni awards at an intimate ceremony Wednesday night. Most reflected on Harper's influence on their careers.

At the Schaumburg mall, Gott leans on the lessons from his second course at Harper - public speaking - especially when he addressed 110 tenants this week about preparations for the holiday retail rush.

"I use those principles every day," said the Inverness man, who earned his associate degree from Harper in 1988 and a bachelor's in economics from Northern Illinois University.

Fellow honoree and Hanover Park Mayor Rodney Craig credits Harper for a resume boost (a certificate in electronics technology) that helped him land a job with the Federal Aviation Administration, where he became an airspace infrastructure manager. Harper, Craig said, provided the resources for adult students like himself, who needed to sharpen his technical skills after serving in the Navy.

The other alums recognized were Meg Schnoor, a Palatine Township Elementary District 15 assistant superintendent; Linda Lang, a retired Harper instructor and assistant speech team coach; Robert Bachus, principal of the engineering firm Geosyntec Consultants; T. Tylor Behrens, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean at Southern Methodist University and vice president-founder of SkillBott Inc.; James Meier, vice president/senior project manager at MeritCorp Group; and Peter Soby Jr., a writer, director and producer at Krazy Killah Media in Los Angeles.

The award winners will be invited back to campus as a guest speaker or will participate in an activity with students.