Catalina Garcia stood out among her peers. She had the potential to be a great teacher, even a great leader. That's how her former high school teachers described her after learning she died in the shooting rampage.

The shootings at Northern Illinois University hit especially hard at Dundee-Crown High School with the news that one of the victims was Ryanne Mace, a 2006 graduate, well-known for her love of music.

After spending more than a decade in the Army, Julianna Gehant had set her sights on a new career: Teaching. In a Christmas card, the 32-year-old woman from Mendota, had written of plans to teach second graders.

Dan Parmenter was seen by his Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers as a gentle giant. At nearly 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, the Westchester native was built to excel on the football and rugby fields.

Sweet and quiet is how friends and former instructors at Glenbard North High School remembered Gayle Dubowski. But put her in a choir robe and on some risers, that's where she found her voice.