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Suburban Heroes: Going above and beyond to help special-needs child

Aimee Brunllieb, a nutrition services employee at Carl Sandburg Junior High School in Rolling Meadows, could have kept going after noticing a child on the ground while walking her dog on a cold winter evening in the city where she works and lives.

But it wasn't Brunllieb's style to keep walking. She sensed something was off and acted in a way that Palatine Township Elementary District 15 Director of School Nutrition Services Bobbie Desprat called "out of the ordinary and amazing."

As it turned out, Brunllieb recognized the boy as a special-needs student she served lunch to at Carl Sandburg. After approaching, she learned he wanted to run away from home.

Brunllieb talked to the child as he petted her dog and eventually walked him home, assuring him everything would be fine, Desprat said.

For her efforts, Brunllieb recently was honored with District 15's "Above and Beyond" pin. Superintendent Scott Thompson presented it to her at a school board meeting last month.

Thompson said just a few of the pins have been awarded.

Brunllieb told District 15 officials that she was "reacting as a mom" when she helped the boy.

"I have a feeling that happens in the lunchroom a lot as well, that you think of them as your own kids and you're their mom in the lunchroom," Thompson said.

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